


Home Is Where You Are

by Ultra



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, Happy, Home, Homecoming, Love, Making Up, Plans For The Future, Reconciliation, Romance, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-09
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-02-08 04:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 61,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1926762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/pseuds/Ultra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>starts in Last Week Fights, This Week Tights; Rory decides not to go out on the set-up her grandma arranged and returns to Stars Hollow in time for Liz & TJ's wedding. Seeing Jess again is awkward and strange, but maybe this time they can rebuild their relationship in a healthier way than before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Rory was pretty much mortified when she realised she had been caught out by her grandma. It never occurred to her for a second that the end time of her last final was so important because her grandmother was trying to set her up on a date! Not that the guy who she picked out wasn’t cute and everything, but as soon as Emily was gone, Graham started to explain the nature of the event Rory was supposed to be attending. It wasn’t really a date, not with a lot of his other friends present. In the end, he confessed it was a pub crawl more than anything else. Rory tried not to look judgemental of his choice when she carefully turned him down.

“Well, it’s very nice of you to invite me, even though you were kind of rail-roaded,” she smiled. “It’s just, I’m not really the crawling to pubs type, sorry. So, thank you, but I think I’ll just finish up packing and head straight home.”

Graham didn’t look too bothered by her rejection. As Rory expected, he was probably relieved to get away without having to babysit the granddaughter of an old acquaintance on his night of freedom and drinks with the guys.

“Okay. Well, it was nice meeting you, Rory,” he told her with a smile and a wave as he moved towards the door.

“You too,” she confirmed, letting out a sigh she hadn’t know she was holding in until Graham was finally gone.

Reaching for her drink, she downed the rest of the contents of the cup in one, wincing at the messed up taste. All the alcohol left on their floor of the building mixed together did not taste good, but the buzz was actually quite nice, especially when added to the high of getting out of college for the Summer. Finally, she was headed home to Stars Hollow for a good long stretch of free time. It felt great.

* * *

“Hello?” called Rory as she came through the front door of her home, laden down with a couple of bags.

There were so many boxes still to bring from the car, but she was kind of hoping for help with that. She called for her Mom twice before Lorelai actually appeared, rushing down the stairs in a pretty pink dress.

“Hey, sweets!” she greeted Rory with a wide grin and an enveloping hug that her daughter happily returned.

“Wow, look at you,” she commented, when the hug was over. “Very Renaissancey.”

“Thank you, daughter dear,” Lorelai curtseyed appropriately. “I didn’t think you’d be back yet, if I’d known I’d’ve made sure you had a dress and a flower crown and...”

“It’s fine,” Rory literally waved away her mother’s concerns. “I wasn’t even invited to the wedding, so...”

“Honey, it’s Luke’s sister getting married. You would be invited in a heart-beat if they knew you were here.”

Rory squirmed under her mother’s gaze. She had her reasons for not minding that she wasn’t going to Liz’s wedding, most of which she didn’t really want to talk about. If her brain had just caught up with her enthusiasm to get home, she might have timed her journey differently. An hour later, maybe even a half hour, and her Mom would already have left for the ceremony, Rory never would’ve had to feel awkward like this.

“Really, I’m fine,” she forced a smile, moving past her mom to grab the bags she had dumped in the hall. “I don’t need to be there, I just...”

“The J word?” asked Lorelai, already sure she was right, more so when Rory wouldn’t look at her when she next spoke.

“Mom, I told you, you can just call him Jess, it’s fine.”

Lorelai followed as Rory dragged her bags to her room and dumped them on the bed.

“See, you say that, but then you won’t come to the wedding and I think it’s because you’re avoiding the guy, which I don’t hate the idea of, but why should you?” she paused to grab her kid by the shoulders and turn her around to face her. “Honey, this is our town, your town, way more than it was ever his. You should be at this wedding!”

Rory smiled at that.

“I don’t think anything qualifies me to be at a wedding more than being the bride’s son qualifies Jess,” she said definitely. “But if it would really make you happy, I’m sure I can throw together something Renaissance-esque and catch you up,” she sighed, knowing her mom was not going to let this go.

“Yes, you should do that!” Lorelai enthused, hugging her daughter tightly one more time. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m just so glad to have you home!”

Rory was glad to be home too and told her mother as much as they parted. Lorelai had to go finish getting ready herself, her hair wasn’t finished yet and she needed to get her flower crown pinned up there. Plus she was now insisting on giving Rory her first attempt at a similar crown that hadn’t gone quite so well, but she would fix it and it would be fine.

Rory was only half-listening to the rambling as she dug in her wardrobe for anything she could pass off as remotely Renaissance. Even then she wasn’t entirely concentrating on the task at hand. It was going to be so weird seeing Jess again after the way they left things last time. He told her he loved her, and then he just ran. Well, to be more accurate, he got in his car and drove, but it amounted to the same thing, running out when things got serious.

Rory hadn’t known what to think or feel about Jess from that day to this. Maybe seeing him again was what she needed, to get a little closure or something. She had thought she was over him once upon a time, but the more Paris and too many others talked about Rory’s ‘dry spell’ the more she thought that Jess had to be the reason she wasn’t dating anyone else. Even in his absence, he was there in her head all the time. They never officially broke up, he just took off one day and didn't come back. She told him she was done with it, on the day she graduated from Chilton, no less. Since then she had seen him on just one other day, the day he said he loved her. The very memory of it made a shudder course right through her body, and for the life of her Rory couldn’t say what the over-riding emotion was that caused that physical reaction.

“Okay, so it’s not as perfect as I would like,” said Lorelai as she came bounding back into Rory’s room with a ring of flowers in her hand. “But I think if you wear that pale green number you got in the sale a couple of months ago, it could work.”

“Good thinking,” Rory smiled, immediately turning back to her closet and looking for the very dress her mom was talking about.

Even as they both got dressed and fixed their hair, acting as girly as women getting ready for any event were want to do, Rory couldn’t stop her mind wandering, or her stomach churning if she were honest. Going to a wedding was a fun idea, but seeing Jess just made her nervous. She had no idea what to expect.

* * *

It was a real surprise to see her. At first Jess thought he might be hallucinating the most beautiful girl he ever met in a long flowing green dress and carefully made ring of flowers atop her head. When she sat down with Lorelai and Luke, looking all around at the festivities of the wedding, he knew for sure it was definitely Rory.

She wasn’t supposed to be here, Jess was sure on that. He had asked Luke if she would be coming and his uncle confirmed she wouldn’t be home from college until later today or maybe even tomorrow. Apparently things had changed, since Jess couldn’t imagine Luke lied, not about Rory of all people.

He was sneaking glances at her the whole time he was waiting for Liz to appear on her ridiculous carriage. Rory didn’t seem to notice, and Jess was mostly glad about it. He couldn’t imagine she would really want to see him, and yet she had to know he was here at the wedding. He was giving away the bride for crying out loud, and the way people talked in this town, there was no possible way she didn’t know.

It was only when Patty approached the front of the crowd, saying something that caused Lorelai to jump up and run, that Rory finally looked in Jess’ direction. Their eyes met for a brief second and he tried for a smile that probably didn’t quite come out right. She looked away so fast, Jess was surprised she didn’t give herself whiplash. He had no idea how bad Rory felt for doing that, though Luke noticed from two seats over.

“Ah, this is awkward for you,” he said, noticing how quickly Rory had looked away from the far end of the aisle. “Because of Jess.”

“Yeah, a little,” she admitted, facing front on purpose. “It’s not like I didn’t know he would be here, he’s your family after all...”

“Hey, you are too,” said Luke, patting her arm lightly. “Oh, except... well, not family in a way that’d make you and Jess dating wrong, not that you’re dating now, but... You know what I mean, right?” he asked desperately, hoping to God he didn’t have to try and explain any further.

“I get it,” said Rory with a genuine smile as she looked his way, finding his sigh of relief just a little amusing. “And thank you, I appreciate what you were trying to say, and I’m fine, honestly. Things with me and Jess, they were just so... unresolved, I guess. It feels weird seeing him and not really knowing where either of us stand.”

“Uh-huh,” Luke nodded. “I get that, Jess might’ve mentioned what happened last time he was here. For what it’s worth, I think he knows he handled things badly.”

Rory squirmed under Luke’s gaze then. He meant well, she was sure, but talking to Luke about her relationship with Jess, even hearing him talk about it, it was weird in the extreme. Luke was so much a father figure in her life, even though Rory did have a real dad that she loved so much. With him being Jess’ uncle too, it felt strange to be talking about things like what she and Jess once meant to each other, what they might still mean now.

“And I’m back!” Lorelai declared as she returned to her seat between Luke and Rory. “Dress all fixed, and this wedding is a go!”

“That’s good."

Luke shifted uncomfortably, knowing he had to say something, anything else, to remove the awkwardness of his previous comment. Looking from Lorelai to Rory and back, he smiled.

“Did I mention that I am very honoured to be sitting with the two prettiest girls in Stars Hollow?” he told them. “You both look beautiful.”

“Oh, Mr Danes!” gasped Lorelai, in a Southern belle accent as she pretended to fan herself. “Well, we’re just mighty glad you approve.”

The laughter between the three then felt good, at least until they were forced into silence by music and the start of the ceremony. A carriage arrived, and out stepped Liz in her perfectly sewn up dress. She grabbed Jess’ offered arm and her son escorted her down the aisle to where T.J. waited, in the tights he refused to shut up about! Rory couldn’t help but smile as Liz was ‘handed over’ to her husband-to-be, and the happy couple shared a look of love. It was oddly beautiful.

Of course, it was very distracting when Jess moved to sit right in front of her. Rory couldn’t think of much else and almost felt the need to lean back in her seat just so she was a little further away from her ex. Lorelai had to have noticed.

“You okay, hon?” she checked.

“Fine,” Rory promised.

All attention then went to the strumming of a guitar as the so-called minister appeared from the gazebo, singing about childhood toys and games of all the crazy things. There was no time for Rory to be thinking about Jess and what would happen next with them right now, she was way too busy trying not to laugh. Unfortunately, no amount of serious topics her mother came up with seemed to help either of them, or Luke for that matter, to be calm and straight-faced. It was physically painful not to laugh out loud!

Then things changed. The song was over and the vows began. Liz and T.J. might not be the youngest people, the most eloquent, or even the best at relationships in the past, but Rory could see they were definitely in love. Her eyes drifted from the happy couple getting married to the back of her ex-boyfriend’s head. She had been in love once, maybe twice if she counted Dean, but Jess definitely had to be a consideration too. She never told him she loved him, not implicitly. She said she thought she had been in love, during their final phone call on her graduation day, but when he said those three little words to her, she hadn’t replied. To be fair, he hadn’t really given her a chance, but even now Rory wasn’t sure what her response would’ve been.

As the minister (or minstrel, or whatever he was) pronounced that Liz and T.J. were now husband and wife, Rory’s attention came back to the matter at hand. A quiet applause and a few cheers rippled through the crowd as the newly married couple sealed their vows with a kiss. It was only when Lorelai glanced at her with a look of concern that Rory even noticed she had started to cry.


	2. Chapter 2

“Ah, the famous Rory!” Liz yelled rather too loudly when Luke introduced them. “Y’know I have heard nothin’ but wonderful things about you from Lorelai, and Luke, and just about everybody,” she smiled widely.

“Oh, well, that’s good,” Rory blushed at the over-enthusiastic compliments she seemed to be getting from Jess’ mom.

That was how she always thought of Liz, never really as Luke’s sister, not even as simply ‘the bride’ for today. This was the woman who Jess claimed to care about and yet Rory knew didn’t always treat him as well she should have. It was strange meeting her, not knowing whether she should thank Liz for bringing such an amazing person into the world, or give her a telling off for not raising him as well as he deserved. In the end, Rory did neither, just nodded along in awkward conversation, until her own mother saw how freaked she was and steered her away towards the food.

“Thank you, Mom,” she said with a sigh. “Honestly, I should’ve been fine, but...”

“The Jess factor. I get it,” Lorelai nodded knowingly. “Seriously though, you should get some of this Renaissance style food. I have heard only good things about the turkey legs.”

“Duly noted,” Rory nodded, looking around.

Her eyes caught Jess’ for a moment and she turned back again extremely quickly. Rory couldn’t help but think maybe that pub crawl she had been offered to go on might’ve been a better idea than this, and yet she was glad to be home if she were honest. It was just having Jess in very close proximity threw her head into a spin. Every time she looked at him, a million memories flooded her mind, and chief among them was his last words to her a few months ago - ‘I love you’.

Shaking her head free of too many thoughts, Rory concentrated on piling food onto a plate. Eating your feelings didn’t work for most girls, they just gained weight and got all the more depressed about their lives. The Gilmores were different, and Rory had never been more glad of her excellent metabolism. She planned to eat until she just couldn’t eat no more, maybe drink too, if she could get away with it. If there was ever an occasion where a drink would be welcome, tonight was the night.

Taking up a spare seat along the table, Rory set down her plate and contemplated the food on it. She was pretty sure it would all be delicious and yet suddenly eating it didn’t appeal at all. 

“Hey, hon?” said Lorelai then, getting her attention from the other side of the table. “Watch this for me, would ya?” she urged her, putting down a glass of wine with a wink.

Rory smiled at her mother’s usual mind reading skills when it came to her, and nodded her thanks. She picked up the glass just as soon as her Mom was gone and took a long drink. It should help, and yet Rory had never really understood how.

“Wow, things must be bad.”

His voice beside her made her jump to the point where she almost spilt the wine everywhere and spat a little for good measure.

“Sorry,” Jess winced when he realised what he caused.

Rory wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and forced a smile.

“Hi,” she greeted her ex awkwardly.

“Hi,” he replied, gesturing to the chair beside her. “Do you mind...?”

“No, it’s fine,” she told him, though honestly she felt anything but fine about this moment. “Um, how are you, Jess?”

“I’m good, fine,” he shrugged non-comittally. “This whole thing really isn’t my scene, but Liz wanted me here, and Luke... It’s not so bad,” he ended eventually and Rory couldn’t help but smile.

Jess really liked for the world to believe he didn’t care about anybody, a reaction to others not always caring for him as much as they should, she supposed. The fact was, he was actually a really sweet person. He had loved her, and he cared a lot about Luke, even if he would rather not say so. Rory bit her lip when she realised where her thought tended. Talking Jess up in her own head was no good right now. She still ought to be mad at him for dropping the bomb of ‘I love you’ then getting in his car and driving off without another word.

“How’s Yale?” he asked in the awkward silence.

“Fine,” Rory replied, a little surprised to realise that elicited a brief burst of laughter from Jess.

“Can you tell which word is being over-used in this conversation?” he asked her.

Rory tried not to smile as she answered.

“No, I think we’re fine.”

They both laughed awkwardly, looking anywhere but at each other. It just so happened that when they looked out across the dance floor, there was one couple directly in both their lines of sight. Luke had Lorelai in his arms, waltzing her around the floor. Neither Rory nor Jess really saw that coming, and yet they both smiled at the scene they were witnessing.

While Rory continued to watch her Mom, smiling and laughing as she was danced around the floor by Luke, Jess’ focus switched to watching her. He never loved anyone like he loved Rory, and certainly hadn’t missed anyone as much as he missed her these past few months. She was as beautiful and sweet as she had ever been, and all he had wanted to do all day was get a chance to talk to her. Finally, here they were, and none of the great speeches he had in his head before seemed to be there now. He just wanted to be close to her, that was all.

“So, you wanna dance?”

The question from his own lips seemed to come as a shock to Jess as much as to Rory. She turned wide eyes upon him, her mouth opening and closing twice before any sound actually came out.

“Are you serious?” she checked, already knowing he must be or he never would’ve have asked. “Um, okay, yeah,” she agreed as he stood and held out a hand for her to take.

Rory felt herself shaking as Jess led her to the dance floor. This was ridiculous. They had danced together before, only slow swaying dances but that’s all this really was anyway, at least it could be if they wanted. The trouble was, all the times they danced together before had been when they were dating. Honestly, there was never an official break up, neither of them dumped the other, it just sort of ended, and yet he loved her. Rory couldn’t even look at Jess as she put her hands to his shoulders and felt his arms at her waist. They swayed gently to the music and it felt good and familiar in a way, but also strange. Rory had never been so caught between wanting to stay here forever and run like the wind.

“So, I need to apologise to you,” said Jess then getting her attention. “Last time I was here, I... Well, saying what I did and then just driving away before you could process, it wasn’t my finest hour,” he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Rory, and not just for that but for a lot of things that I handled badly.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled up at him. “Well, it’s not exactly okay, but... forget it,” she told him, looking away again.

That was kind of the point. Jess really didn’t want to just forget it all. He wanted to talk about it, for maybe the first time in his life he realised it was the only way forward. Not that he would ever admit to reading self help books or listening to those dumb tapes Luke’s bought, but they had changed things for him. Jess had known for a long time that he loved Rory and that maybe telling her was for the best, it was why he had done so last time he was here. He handled it badly and he knew it too. You couldn’t confess that kind of thing and then bolt, but he had been so panicked by what she might say back. If Rory loved him, he still didn’t know if they could make it work, and if she didn’t, well, then Jess was pretty sure his heart would be broken for good.

Finally he had this opportunity to at least try and have a decent conversion about the most important relationship of his life, and Rory was the one backing off. That was new, but Jess could understand it. After all the times he bottled up or ran away, he could completely understand why Rory wasn’t keen to get into things with him now, but it really did suck that they never seemed to be in the same head-space at the same time. They had been so on the same page in the beginning, what seemed like a life time ago now.

“So, how long are you staying?” asked Rory, forcing herself to meet his eyes again, those soulful eyes she had always felt she could drown in.

“I don’t know,” Jess admitted, staring down into the depths of beautiful blue looking back at him. “I was gonna leave tonight, right after this was over, but maybe... maybe I could stay longer?”

It was a question more than a statement of fact and Rory couldn’t fail to notice. Whether he was asking her if she wanted him to stay or just if she minded, the answer was still the same. As crazy as it might make her, Rory wanted Jess to be here longer than one night. She wanted to be given a chance to process things he didn’t give her a chance to properly consider the last time. She needed to reconcile a whole bunch of feelings and mixed up thoughts whilst he was still around.

“It would be nice, if you stayed longer,” she said vaguely, with the merest hint of a smile playing at her lips.

Jess smirked because he just could help it, spinning Rory out of his arms very suddenly and then quickly back in. She laughed out of surprise more than anything, a beautiful sound that he was more than happy to have caused.

“Then I’ll stay longer,” he told her, smiling widely. “Thank you, Rory.”

“You’re welcome, Jess.”

* * *

“Hey, hon,” Lorelai smiled as Rory stepped out of her bedroom in the morning. “Coffee?”

“Oh yeah,” her daughter nodded as she took a seat at the table.

There was this dopey smile on her face, and Lorelai hardly dare ask what had caused it. Last night, Lorelai may have been somewhat distracted by Luke being the sweetest guy ever, but she had noticed Rory spending quite a bit of time with Jess. After everything that had happened, she almost dreaded hearing that they were getting close again, and yet Rory’s smile had to be a positive sign, she supposed.

“So, great shindig of a wedding last night, huh?” said Lorelai as she handed her daughter a cup of coffee and joined her at the table.

“Yeah, it was cool,” Rory smiled, sipping her hot beverage. “Although if I had to hear T.J.’s speech about tights one more time, I thought I was going to go crazy. He was really into those things.”

“I know, right?” Lorelai laughed. “Poor guy is going to be heart-broken when Liz gets him back in regular pants. She’s not really what I thought she’d be.”

“Me either,” her daughter agreed. “She seems nice, but then people can change, I guess.”

“Did Jess talk about his mom much when you two were dating?” she asked, testing the water about the dating situation as much as anything else.

Rory could tell something was up, and she could easily figure out what too. Of course her Mom was worried about her getting close to Jess again. After the way he hurt her before, it was only natural, and Rory loved how much her mother cared. At the same time, she kind of wished Lorelai would just come out and ask the question she really wanted the answer to instead of beating around the bush. She didn’t usually do that, but where Jess was conercned, things had always been awkward and delicate between the Gilmore girls.

“Jess loves his mom, I know he does,” she shrugged. “They just have a difficult relationship. She wasn’t the best when he was younger. I guess she had him really young and, well, she just wasn’t as together as you,” she smiled at Lorelai who grinned back.

“Yeah, it’s not easy being a young mom, but I have to say, Liz did seem more into guys and pot than her son, at least from the way she was talking yesterday,” she sighed. “Kind of made me feel bad for Jess.”

Rory was a little surprised to hear that and yet at the same time not so much. Her mom was a really cool person, she cared and didn’t automatically judge other people’s situations most of the time. She had her reasons for making judgements about Jess before, reasons that Rory understood only too well. It would be good if they could all start afresh for as long as he was visiting Stars Hollow this time, and this was what Rory told her mother.

“I just... I want things to be like before, when we first met. Before everything else happened,” she said, waving her hand in some vague gesture towards the past. “I think it could be good for us, me and Jess, to be friends again.”

Lorelai tried not to smile. Exes becoming friends after a break up was way more complicated than Rory seemed to think. She and Christopher managed pretty well, but those were very special circumstances. This was different.

“Friends, huh?” she said, nodding her head. “Well, that’d be great, but don’t I remember you telling me that last time Jess was here he told you that, oh yes, he loved you?” she checked, already knowing it was true, of course.

“He apologised for that,” said Rory, staring into her coffee. “For the way he handled things then, and before too,” she shifted awkwardly in her seat. “But hey, what about you and Luke?” she asked suddenly looking up.

Lorelai knew the subject change was a deliberate evasive manoeuvre, but she let it go. Honestly, she did kind of want to talk about the situation with Luke anyway, and was happy to begin waxing lyrical on how things had been changing lately. Rory was just glad to talk about anything but Jess for a little while, and the idea of her mom and Luke dating was actually kind of great. At least one out of the two of them had a decent relationship to focus on right now!


	3. Chapter 3

Going into Luke’s never felt so strange. At the wedding reception on Saturday night, Rory had been only too happy to agree that Jess should stay in Stars Hollow a while. Now he was here, a fixture in the diner as he had been in the beginning when they first met, and it was the oddest feeling for Rory to walk in and see him there.

It was early, before the Monday morning rush. Luke was handling the counter just fine by himself and so Jess was stood at the far end, eyes locked onto a book. He never even looked up when Rory and Lorelai walked in, which was oddly hurtful somehow. Rory pushed the thought out of her head the second it made an appearance.

They grabbed a table, barely talking, which was weird in and of itself. They had this whole conversation outside about Lorelai maybe dating Luke, and Rory couldn’t believe how much she had to calm her mom down before they could go inside.

One waltz and some pretty words, and suddenly Lorelai was weak at the knees and babbling like a brook. Rory could understand it, this was Luke after all. It was kind of a big deal that these two were finally getting somewhere in their relationship, making the leap from such good friends to something more. When Rory thought about it, she and Jess had been friends before they got together. Not for even a fraction of the time that Luke and Lorelai had been friends, but it felt like it sometimes. There were occasions when Rory had looked at Jess and just felt like she’d known him forever, or that she should know him forever, something like that. They had so much in common, and he made her feel like nobody else ever could. Rory hadn’t realised she had zoned out staring at the guy until Lorelai literally poked her in the arm.

“Hey, kid!” she repeated until finally Rory looked at her. “Little distracted there, huh?” she smiled, though it didn’t seem like a genuine expression somehow.

Rory was busted. They both knew she had been caught staring at Jess, and that wasn’t really a good thing. The last thing she needed was to be reverting back to her school girl self and falling for the rebel just because it was familiar. In part at least, Rory blamed Paris and the other girls at the dorm. They wouldn’t stop talking about how she was having this dry spell when it came to guys and dating. Rory denied it was true at first, but the more time went on, the more she wondered if she knew the reason why that was.

It had been ridiculous to consider even for a moment that it all came back to Dean. Sure, it had felt strange when he married Lindsay, it still felt strange now. To think that a guy who had been a friend as well as a boyfriend was now not supposed to talk to Rory because his wife said so. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. It made Rory all the more determined to keep Dean in her life just because somebody said she shouldn’t. It didn’t matter that it was childish and dumb, she was sticking to her guns and that was that.

Then there was Jess. He had been someone she couldn’t or shouldn’t have when she was dating Dean. She often wondered if that was part of his appeal, because it was considered dumb and reckless of her to fall for a guy like him. Maybe some of what drew her in was his mile-wide rebellious streak, she wouldn’t deny that, but listing reasons in her head to be head-over-heels for Jess came all too easily even now. When she turned to glance back at him again, whilst Lorelai awkwardly gave their order to Luke, she realised he was gone. Rory soon found out why Jess was no longer at the counter when suddenly he spoke.

“Hey.” 

She physically jumped as she turned the opposite way and saw him stood next to her with his jacket on.

“Hi,” she smiled. “Um, you’re going...?” she asked vaguely, almost afraid to finish the question.

“Just out for a walk,” he confirmed, with a hint of a smirk he couldn’t help.

The idea of him leaving town certainly seemed to freak her out, and Jess wouldn’t deny that made him happy. She had said he should stay, though neither of them had really established what he was hanging around for. They needed to talk, that much Jess knew for sure. As much as they had said at the wedding, as close as they’d been in their dancing, nothing really got resolved or even remotely figured out. Maybe now was a good time.

“You want to...?” he asked, gesturing towards the door, even as his eyes drifted to the flirty banter between her mom and his uncle.

She smiled as she followed his eyes line and then nodded her agreement.

“Mom, I’ll be back,” said Rory quickly as she grabbed up her jacket and followed Jess out the door.

Lorelai didn’t really get a chance to answer, but she did stare after the young non-couple with a serious expression.

“Yeah, you really don’t like that, do you?” said Luke with a heavy sigh.

He was glad to have Jess here and honestly he was even more glad to see his nephew and Rory building bridges. Whilst it was true that most of the mistakes had been on Jess’ side with that relationship, Rory wasn’t quite as perfect as some of the people in this town would like to think. Luke loved that girl like a daughter but she and Jess both had their issues to work through. Maybe now after their time apart, a little space to get perspective and all, perhaps they could fix what was broken and at least be friends again. Lorelai didn’t look convinced or at all comfortable.

“I just don’t want her heart broken again,” she said, looking up at Luke. “She always said he didn’t hurt her that bad, but...”

She shook her head and Luke understood without her ever finishing the sentence. He knew she was right. Both Rory and Jess acted as if their relationship was a throwaway item, and yet anybody with eyes could see how they felt about each other. It was a special kind of bond those two had, and Luke would love for them to be able to work it out. He wasn’t sure that was the best thing to tell Lorelai right now, especially when the two of them were finally getting closer. He stuck to a more neutral response to her worries.

“For what it’s worth, Jess knows he handled things wrong,” he told her. “He’s growing up. It’s taking time and effort, but he really is.”

“I hope so,” Lorelai nodded, finding a genuine smile when she glanced up at Luke then. “But anyway, you’re still coming to the inn on the weekend, right? For the run through?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” he answered awkwardly and Lorelai was suddenly frowning.

She had hoped things were good with them. It was a little strange with Luke taking her to Liz’s wedding and the real live date they had just yesterday. It wasn’t really anything they hadn’t done before but there was a closeness, things were changing. She liked it, and yet now he was backing off so suddenly, which made Lorelai worry.

“You don’t have to come,” she said, trying to sound normal and natural, not whiney and sad as she felt about it.

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” he assured her. “Really, I just... I wasn’t expecting Jess to stay long, and now I kinda feel bad leaving him here when I’m there...”

“Bring him,” said Lorelai immediately. “Seriously, just bring him along with. We’ll put you in Room 7, that has twin beds, it’ll be fine.”

She was shrugging like it was no big deal and yet after the conversation they just had about Jess and Rory, Luke couldn’t quite believe her nonchalance, but he wouldn’t argue. Things were going too well to screw up right now, and he honestly did think that given the chance to talk things through, Rory and Jess could at least have a healthier friendship if nothing else. That would be good for the both of them, if they could just get some communication going.

* * *

“So, it’s a good thing I asked you out here to walk rather than talk,” said Jess as he and Rory continued on down the street.

They had been all but silent since the moment they left the diner, the pair of them looking off in opposite directions, hands in their pockets, almost pretending the other one wasn’t there. Of course that would have been impossible even if they tried it.

“It’s just kind of awkward still,” Rory smiled as she bravely looked his way. “C’mon, Jess, you have to admit this is weird. I mean, we were friends and then we were together, and now... now I don’t know what we are,” she shrugged.

Jess had to admit he didn’t know either. In the beginning, he wanted Rory and couldn’t have her, then when he got her he knew he hadn’t exactly been the world’s best boyfriend. She wasn’t perfect, no way, but he had been the main source of the screw ups in their relationship. These were the things he really needed to be saying out loud rather than in his head, he knew that. As they walked by the school, he made a deliberate turn. Rory followed out of instinct more than anything else, and then there they were in their old familiar spot.

“Of all the things about this crazy town I was glad to get away from, I missed this,” he said, moving to sit down in the centre of the bridge with his legs dangling over the side.

“The place or the awkward company?” she dared to ask, knowing she was blushing as she sat down beside him.

“Both,” he smirked as she joined him. “I don’t know, maybe it all goes back to Luke pushing me off this thing that first week, maybe that’s how it became the place I always went to when I had to get away, to think, to just be, y’know?”

“You didn’t always come here alone,” she said, looking out across the water because it was so much easier than facing him.

Jess knew very well what she meant. The first time he brought Rory here was the day he won her picnic basket at some crack-pot event the town was holding, but they had been here so many more times since then. When they were dating it became their spot more than it was ever his own. They sat here and read in comfortable silence or out-loud to each other sometimes. They talked for hours, they stopped talking and let their feelings take over as much as a public place allowed. A good portion of their relationship had taken place on this row of planks across the lake, and now here they were again.

“Y’know when you left... for California,” she told him softly, looking down at her own hands in her lap. “I used to come here. I’d tell my mom I was fine, because I wanted to be fine, but then I’d come here and... and I missed you, and I hated you, and... and I loved you,” she sniffled as all the emotion came rushing back and threatened to overwhelm her.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, itching to touch her, to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t, not now.

He gave up the right to be all she needed when he walked out on her, not just once but twice. It was why they were here now, so he could put some of it right at least, but it felt like a very long road to getting back to anywhere close to what they were to each other, if they ever really could be.

“I’m sorry too,” she said then, turning to look at him. “I mean, I wasn’t exactly the greatest girlfriend. So many times I accused you and I made unfair comparisons,” she shook her head. “I think it hurt all the more because I knew why you left. Yeah, some of it was about your dad and dropping out, but you left because I wasn’t what you needed, I couldn’t... You couldn’t talk to me, and that has to be as much my fault as it was yours.”

Jess didn’t know how to answer that. Instinct made him want to tell her it was never her fault at all, and yet logic and reality dictated that he couldn’t. She was right. She did make it harder to talk to her about things. She accepted him for what he was but at the same time urged him to be more. There had been unflattering comparisons to Forester and accusations that were unfounded. He understood sometimes, but it still hurt. When Jess found out he couldn’t take Rory to prom, it was the final straw. His father appeared and he had somewhere to run to, so he did. It was cowardly and ultimately stupid, but at the time it had seemed like the best thing for both of them.

“We both made mistakes,” he said eventually. “We were young, it happens.”

“We’re not exactly old now,” she smirked the way he so often did. “But older, I guess, maybe a little wiser.”

“Gotta hope so,” he nodded.

A companionable silence settled over them as it had so often before when they were alone together with their own thoughts. Before it was awkward, when they were walking down here, both knowing things needed to be said and neither knowing where to start. Now they were on the same page, at least up to the point where Jess left town. His return and confession six months ago was still hanging over them, but it didn’t seem so scary now the other stuff had been dealt with. That was a whole other conversation they would have to have later, about whether or not Jess still loved Rory and if she could ever feel the same. For now it was nice to just sit here together, looking out across the water, knowing that they could just be in each others company and not worry so much about what came next.


	4. Chapter 4

When Luke and Jess arrived at the Dragonfly Inn for the run-through weekend, they were expecting something perhaps a little more professional than the sight that met their eyes. Lorelai was having a mini-fight at the desk with Michel, whilst Rory ran back and forth doing goodness only knew what. Meanwhile there seemed to be a lot of construction worker types carrying doors around. It was a little bizarre.

“Should we maybe go out and come back in?” asked Jess, looking to his uncle for a response that never came as Lorelai rushed over the moment she noticed they were there.

“Hey!” she grinned, even as Michel continued to mutter in French in the background, slamming the drawer under the reception desk with a thud.

Jess looked away when Lorelai leaned in to hug Luke and he awkwardly hugged back. Rory came flying by at just that moment, sparing Jess a smile as she went off on her mission to placate an irate Frenchman. It was strange, oddly reminiscent of the old days before they even dated. Catching meaningful glances behind the backs of their guardians, her boyfriend, anybody who might judge, that all seemed like a lifetime ago and just yesterday at the same time.

“So, you’ll be in room seven,” said Lorelai then, snapping Jess back to the present. “Your key is right here” she handed it over to Luke an then looked past him. “And that, right there, is your door!”

Jess followed her gaze the same way Luke did, only to see Forester, of all people, with the door bearing a number seven in his hands. Dean smiled at Luke and then glared when he realised who was stood slightly behind him. Jess knew that given half the chance he would be battered to death with that door. The fact Dean could do nothing to him here without causing a scene made him smirk all the more.

“So, we follow the monkey, right?” he checked, not even caring that Luke glared at him, caring even less if Dean heard as they mounted the stairs one after the other.

“Well, that could’ve been better planned... if we had a plan for who puts what door on what room,” Lorelai considered aloud.

“I hadn’t thought about them running into each other here today,” said Rory as she appeared beside her, fingers lacing and unlacing nervously. “But this is... I mean, it’s ancient history, right? I haven’t dated either of them for over a year.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure that really makes a difference,” her mother told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing. “That’s the downside to being as cool as we are, kid. Hard for guys to get over us.”

Rory rolled her eyes at Lorelai’s comment, but she couldn’t help but wonder if there was any truth inside the joke. For a while now, she had wondered if Dean ever really got over her. It seemed big-headed to expect him to be pining for her whilst being married to Lindsay, but he showed signs of it. She had thought maybe she was just imagining it, inventing it because she was lonely and dateless and Dean had always been there, strong and sturdy, reliable and sweet. Now Jess was here, things felt very different again.

It was kind of like the first time when he arrived in Stars Hollow and turned her head. Jess Mariano was like no other guy Rory ever met, and very different to Dean, that was for sure. Sometimes it confused Rory to think that she could have loved both of them, but then she considered that the feelings of love she had for her first and second boyfriend were very different, to go along with the fact they shared few similarities themselves. Dean was like a really good friend, and the love Rory had for him matched that role. She had definitely been attracted to his looks in the beginning too, he was certainly cute and all, but it was never the deep-seated passion she felt for Jess, there was never the magnetic pull that drew her to him even when she was supposed to be committed elsewhere. The love she had barely ever admitted to feeling for Jess was always so strong and definite, and yet it had taken her the longest time to realise it was there. Maybe because it just came so naturally to her, without ceremony or   
fanfare. There was no moment when she suddenly felt lightning hit her, it was there from the first day, she just hadn’t known how to identify it until now.

“Hey, you okay, hon?” asked Lorelai when she realised her daughter had completely zoned out.

“Oh, er, yeah,” Rory shook her head clear of the deep thoughts that had settled in. “Y’know, doors not withstanding, I think it’s all going pretty well so far,” she said of the inn’s practice run.

Lorelai smiled, ready to agree with her until suddenly she heard familiar voices warring by the door. Emily and Richard had arrived, and they didn’t seem happy about it.

“Spoke too soon!”

* * *

“Don’t worry, Sookie, I’m sure one of your kitchen staff will start sucking soon.”

Rory wasn’t really sure what was going on with her, but she hoped that she said the right thing. When she turned in the kitchen doorway, she collided with the solid chest of Dean and looked appropriately startled that he was there.

“She wants her staff to suck?” he checked, having clearly caught the end of that conversation.

“Apparently,” Rory agreed, shaking her head. “Um, I didn’t know you were still here.”

“Just got the last door hung and everything tided away,” he told her, shifting awkwardly.

Rory’s eyes went all around the dining room, which was mercifully empty right now. She could use being without an audience when she was caught in a tight spot with her first ex. There had been enough staring when some of the guests saw her with the second ex. Rory had to wonder how anybody ever coped with dating. She was only glad she didn’t get a college boyfriend yet. Three exes would be way too many, she wasn’t coping well with just two in the same place at the same time.

“So, you’re leaving now, right?” asked Rory, feeling a little bad that it came out almost hopeful.

“I guess,” Dean agreed with a nod. “But, I... Rory, please tell me you and him aren’t... After everything, can’t you see that he’s no good for you?”

The ‘him’ needed no explanation, they were both very aware that he was talking about Jess. Rory didn’t want to hear this, not from Dean most especially. It was comparing one guy to the other that always led to badness. Just because Dean was nice to her in the beginning, Jess had been perfectly nice too. Other people didn’t see the nice side of her second boyfriend as much as the first, but she always had. No, he hadn’t treated her well in the end, but she had done her share of forcing him away too. As for Dean, he had married somebody else, and whilst Rory wasn’t going to stand for being told she wasn’t allowed to see her ex even as a friend anymore, she wasn’t looking for more from Dean. Seeing a married man as anything more than a friend would be so wrong and make Rory the kind of woman she would never want to be. Besides, in a straight out contest between Dean and Jess, the latter would win, he always had before. Not that Rory was necessarily being given the choice of either of them, but right now she knew   
more than ever who she would choose. Dean looked down into her eyes the way he used to years ago and Rory waited for the old familiar feelings to come back to her. There was a flicker of something, she supposed there always would be, but it was nothing like the flames that used to take over her heart. Certainly nothing like what she felt around Jess.

“Dean, I’m old enough to know who I want to be with,” she told him with a sigh. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the concern. As my friend, it’s great that you want to look out for me, but if I want to spend time with Jess I will,” she said definitely.

Neither she nor Dean had any idea that Jess was on his way to find Rory just then. He heard her voice, realised who she was talking with and kept hidden around the corner for now.

“You can’t date him again, Rory,” said Forester, practically whining as he urged her against such behaviour. “He’s not good enough for you.”

“That’s not your decision to make, Dean,” she snapped then. “Maybe I’m not good enough for him, you ever think of that? I certainly wasn’t good enough for you, I was practically cheating on you by the end, with Jess, if you remember,” she said coldly. “And now you’re married to Lindsay, so I don’t even know why you care.”

“I always care, Rory,” he said softly.

Jess wanted to throw up and was about to walk away entirely until he heard Rory’s voice again.

“Dean, stop it! Just, don’t!” she told him too loudly.

It was then Jess decided to make his presence fault. He came strolling around the corner as if he just got there, with no idea what was happening. Dean had a hold of Rory’s wrist which she was fast pulling from his grip. He was leant at such an angle, it was clear he had been trying to make a move and kiss her. She didn’t want it, and that was a relief at least.

“There a problem here?” asked Jess, eyes narrowing at Dean.

“No,” said Rory definitely, finally getting her wrist free and taking a step back, glaring at Forester. “Dean, your work here is done, you should go home.”

“To your wife,” Jess threw in for good measure.

Dean did not look at all amused, but he did leave, because he had no choice. He would’ve liked to wipe the smirk of Jess’ face on the way out but settled for deliberately bumping his shoulder on the way to the door. To his credit, Jess didn’t react. He would’ve loved to throw the guy through a wall and probably could’ve done it too, except he knew Rory would hate another fight. It was that which kept him in check when they dated before, trying to be the bigger man. After Luke’s self-help tapes and all, he was especially aware of not being the jerk he had been in the past. He had to make things right with Rory if he could, even if they were never more than friends, it had to be better than the weird estrangement they went through before.

“Hey,” she smiled then, though the expression was a little forced and her hand was still rubbing the opposite wrist, the one Dean had grabbed,

Jess didn’t say anything, just moved closer and gently reached for her arm, wary of startling her after what just happened with Forester. She didn’t stop him from holding onto her arm at the elbow and hand, checking her wrist.

“Guy’s a real piece of work,” muttered Jess. “He tries that again, I am going to knock his head off.”

“I don’t think he meant to...” said Rory too softly, feeling strange just from having Jess touching her in such a simple way.

There was a red mark at her wrist, mostly from her pulling to get away than from Dean grabbing at her. He was never that guy, never rough and mean. She felt so safe with Dean, always, but for as much as Jess was the wild and bad boy, she never felt she was in danger with him. He would protect her if she needed it, with his life if necessary, she truly believed that. It was as scary as it was thrilling, but thinking about it just made her smile uncontrollably.

“So,” she said then. “What do you think of the inn?” she asked, retracting her arm from his gentle grasp.

“Looks good so far,” he nodded, looking around, shoving his hands in his pockets so he wasn’t tempted to touch her again, it didn’t seem like he should right now.

“Um, it’ll be time for lunch soon,” she explained. “Sookie’s really cooking up a storm.”

“I remember how that goes,” he said with a look.

Rory smiled when he smiled because she knew why.

“No bailing out of windows, okay?” she warned him.

“No, ma’am,” he assured her, the moment duly broken as Lorelai came rushing in followed by a whole bunch of guests.

Lunch time had come upon them a little faster than expected and there was no time for further reminiscing. It felt good though, to just be able to talk, to flirt and tease each other. It was like the old days, before everything got way too complicated.

Neither Rory nor Jess was really sure where they were headed in whatever relationship was happening between them. They were friendly at least, if not full-on friends, and that was a good start. What happened next was anybody’s guess, but even as they took seats on opposite sides of the dining room, more than one person spotted Rory and Jess smiling at each other across the space between. Thankfully Lorelai was oblivious for now, she only had eyes for Luke.


	5. Chapter 5

Rory was in kind of a quandary. This was maybe the first time she had been in a position where her dating options were really simple and clear. In the beginning, starting things with Dean was tricky because she never had a boyfriend before and didn’t really know what she was doing. When Jess came along, she was caught between the familiar and a new attraction. Dating Jess had been great most of the time, but she kept on comparing him to what she had before, and that didn’t work out too well. After he left, she tried to navigate college dating and had been largely unsuccessful.

Paris said Rory was going through a dry spell. The truth was, Rory just didn’t know how to date casually. She always had a boyfriend, and though she didn’t need one in order to define her, it was fun while it lasted. Now Dean was definitely out of the picture, being as he was married to Lindsay and all. A week or so ago, she would have said Jess was long gone too, but now he was back and they were talking again, they had both apologised for what went wrong before, and though they had still yet to broach the subject of his ‘I love you’ six months ago, it was okay. They were okay.

Rory knew if she wanted to make things work with Jess again there was a good chance that she could, but she had no idea what he was feeling and somehow it was just too scary to ask, especially when a voice in her head was still telling her she was a fool to try again with a guy like him. The truth was, Jess had grown up some since she saw him last. Rory liked to think she had too, but just because they could be together now didn’t necessarily mean they should.

All of this was on Rory’s mind as she wandered through the inn. At least the trial run weekend was going well so far. Sure, it was only Saturday afternoon, not even half way through, but still. Babette and Miss Patty were gossiping happily together, Taylor was still wandering around making copious notes. Kirk and Lulu were out on the swing seat on the porch, visible from the window, and as Rory headed outside she spotted her mom and Luke being cute whilst petting the horses. They had been such good friends for so long, she couldn’t be sorry they finally seemed to be making the leap into dating. Luke was the best, and had always been a great surrogate father to Rory, even if she did have a real dad too. It took Rory a moment to realise she wasn’t the only one watching the scene.

“Hey,” she smiled.

Jess looked up over his shoulder to return the look. He had a book in his hand and had been quite happy sat on the front steps of the inn pretending to read it. Truth was he had been keeping an eye on what was happening with Luke and Lorelai. They belonged together, anybody with eyes could see that. It was sickeningly cute actually, but it was what Luke deserved. He had lived the bachelor life a very long time, always trying to be the good guy for everybody else’s sake, Jess most especially. If anyone deserved some happiness with the woman he loved, it was his uncle.

“Is that yours?” asked Rory as she sat down beside him, gesturing to the book he held.

“I found it in the library here” he explained with a smirk. “Could say I stole it.”

“You’ll put it back before you leave,” she shrugged easily. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Oh, you will?” he almost laughed at that. “Well, you were always the stickler for honesty, I guess. Rory Gilmore, symbol of truth, justice... and age appropriate video tapes,” he teased her.

“Shut up!” she said, bumping her shoulder against his own. “I’m not exactly saintly. You know that better than anyone.”

She blushed at the very admission. Sure, Rory Gilmore was still pretty pure, virginal certainly, but not the sweet little angel the town saw her as sometimes. Jess hadn’t exactly turned her into a girl gone wild, but being with him had allowed her to be more herself somehow. It was hard to explain but when she was around him it had always been the same, she didn’t feel like there was any part of her she had to hide. It was no real effort to talk to him, to just be around him. Now they had gotten most of their awkwardness out of the way, they were back to that place and it felt so good, almost too good.

“So, it’s finally happening with those two, huh?” said Jess then, clearly more comfortable with changing the subject, same as her.

“Seems like,” Rory nodded, following his eye line to her mom and Luke. “I am so happy for them. If they can make it work, and I really hope they can, I wish them all the luck in the world. They deserve this.”

“He waited long enough to make his move,” Jess considered. “But I guess sometimes you have to play the long game.”

He never even glanced at her when he was talking and yet he got Rory’s attention. She couldn’t be certain that Jess was talking about anything more than Luke and Lorelai’s blossoming relationship. Somehow she couldn’t help but think he was talking about the two of them at the same time.

“So, Miss Yale Student,” he said then, a second subject change in as many minutes. “How was the first year?”

“It was good,” Rory smiled widely. “Rooming with Paris has been... an experience, but the other girls were nice, and classes were interesting. It’s all good.”

“Good,” Jess nodded once. “I’d hate to think you were regretting not going to Harvard. I mean, it was the dream, right?”

“It was,” she agreed, shifting awkwardly again, knowing as well as he did that Jess himself had been a part of the reason why she switched collegiate allegiance the way she had. “But Yale is a great school, it’s Grandpa’s alma mater, and I get to come home, see Mom and Luke and everybody as much as I want to,” she smiled. “I don’t regret it,” she assured him, meeting his eyes, immediately wishing she hadn’t.

He had this intense gaze that never fall to stick her to the spot and make her want to run all at the same time. That had been true from the first day she met Jess to now, and Rory was overwhelmed by the feelings that had never truly gone away, even after he broke her heart before.

“Um, so, how about you?” she asked then, glancing away. “I mean, you went to California but didn’t Luke say you were in New York again now?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, running a hand back through his hair. “I was with Jimmy for a couple of months, but all that sun and sand, it was like living in a Beach Boys song.”

Rory laughed at that, knowing how much Jess would’ve hated the constant state of warmth and happy people. It really wasn’t his scene, and just picturing him stood on a California beach in his leather jacket and jeans made her grin.

“New York is home, I guess,” he shrugged as he continued to explain how he ended up back East. “I was born and raised there, it’s where I usually end up. I share an apartment with these guys... It’s not much, but I get by.”

“You live where you live, work when you need money, and you’re just fine,” she paraphrased easily from a conversation they had more than two years ago now.

They had been driving around in her car on a night when she was supposed to be tutoring him, a ridiculous idea because he was easily as smart as she was, maybe more so in his own way. Rory never thought of that night as the one where they got in a car wreck or when she was trying to put Jess back on track with his studies. In her memory it was the night when they really connected, more than she ever felt she had connected with anyone. There had been other occasions that meant a lot, but nothing like that night in the car when he promised her all her career dreams were going to come true. When he confessed he had no real dreams like that of his own and yet the way he looked at her made Rory think that whatever goal he was shooting for, maybe she was there with him in his ideal future. It was fat-headed and silly, but that’s what she thought, and later, when they were finally dating, he had admitted it was true.

“Rory...” he said then, leaning a little closer.

She swallowed hard waiting to see what he would say, what he would do. Actually Jess never got the chance when Lorelai suddenly appeared.

“Honey, I’m sorry, could I borrow you for a sec?” she asked, looking to Rory.

“Oh, sure,” she shook herself from a daze and got up, dusting of the backside of her pants as she followed Lorelai inside.

Jess watched them go, let out a long breath and went back to his book, all the well-planned words in his head remaining unsaid for now.

“What are you doing, Rory?” her mother asked as they searched around the Reception desk for something as yet unknown to the younger Gilmore.

“Helping you, if you ever tell me what we’re actually looking for,” said Rory helplessly.

Lorelai rolled her eyes.

“The lint brush, but that is not what I meant!” she said definitely as the searching continued. “I swear, your grandma brushes right up against Cletus in her designer gear and then has a complete meltdown because hey, look, horse hair on her skirt! You’d think the world was ending.”

“Seems unlikely,” said Rory, checking all the desk drawers. “I haven’t seen any signs of the apocalypse.”

“Well, I don’t know, the devil rode back into town last weekend so...”

Rory stopped searching and just stared open-mouthed at her mother. Lorelai noticed and immediately looked a little ashamed of herself.

“I’m sorry,” she apologised. “I know he’s not as bad as Satan, but... but I’m your mother, Rory. I can’t help not exactly loving a guy that broke your heart the way Jess did. The insults are kind of like instinct.”

“I know,” she nodded her agreement. “I wasn’t exactly his biggest fan then either, but y’know, he wasn’t the only one who messed up when we were dating.”

“Really? I didn’t see you running out of town like your butt was on fire or showing up to dinner with a black eye or stealing jewellery from your significant other.”

“I don’t really think Jess had any jewellery for me to steal...” Rory joked, but was serious again in a moment as Lorelai continued to stare at her. “I know he did bad things,” she sighed heavily then. “But that was only part of the way Jess was. You didn’t see all the good stuff. Sure, he had an attitude sometimes and he could be thoughtless and a little rude, but with me he was so sweet and caring and... and as much as he was my boyfriend he was a really good friend too. We have so much in common, and he makes me laugh, and he gets me. I didn’t think a guy could get me like that, I thought the only people I would ever have that really knew me and accepted every part of me was you and maybe Lane, but then there was Jess and now he’s back... I don’t think I realised how much I missed having him around until he got back.”

Lorelai didn’t know what to say to any of that. She knew herself that Rory hadn’t been exactly saintly during either of her relationships. She didn’t treat Dean all that well after Jess came to town, and maybe she wasn’t always the most supportive or understanding girlfriend where the town hoodlum was concerned either. Still, it was a mother’s instinct to back her daughter and condemn the guy that ran away and left her.

“For what it’s worth, he seems less hoodlumy these days,” she said too seriously given the strange word she just made up. “Luke said he’s doing okay, trying to make a life, be a grown up.”

“He is,” Rory agreed. “It’s just... it’s really good having him around again. I like it, I... I know it probably makes me really dumb, but I like him, a lot.”

“That’s not dumb, honey,” Lorelai sighed and shook her head. “That’s just love, I guess.”

Rory’s eyes widened at the word ‘love’. She never did tell Jess out-right that she loved him. She said she thought she had once, in a phone conversation on the day of her graduation from Chilton, and she implied it the other day on the bridge. Six months ago, Jess came to town and made his own confession of feelings before leaving Rory standing for a third time. Now when she was just trying to decide if she was a fool to like Jess at all anymore, her mom used the very word Rory was too scared to consider too seriously up to now - love.

“I don’t know if I... or if he... not anymore, I just...” she started to ramble.

Lorelai smiled.

“I know,” she nodded. “Sweetheart, it doesn’t thrill me to say this but I do think you loved him, I think maybe you still do, and for all the reasons I had to doubt the guy, one thing I was always sure on was how much he adored you.”

A moment later she had found the brush she was looking for, and Lorelai rushed off to answer the calls of her own mother from beyond the front door. Rory barely even noticed her mother going, so fixed was she on what had been said here just now. It was going to stick in her mind for a long time yet, she knew that much for sure.

* * *

Dinner had been a success, in everything but assisting Sookie with her kitchen staff situation. Apparently they were all just too good! Rory was sat at a table letting Tom win at chequers and stealing glances at Jess across the way when her mom came and asked her if everything was okay.

“Sure, yeah, I guess,” said Rory uncertainly. “Um, you do know Jason is still in the lobby, right?” she said in a low voice, mindful of others hearing, especially Luke.

“Yes, I know,” Lorelai sighed. “I can handle him, I think, but could you do me one favour, honey?”

Across the room, Jess had half an ear straining to listen to the quiet conversation between Lorelai and Rory. It was hard to tell when Babette was at their table and wouldn’t stop yammering as she and Luke played Yahtzee together. As far as they were concerned, Jess was happily reading and paying no mind to them at all, but a woman with a voice as big as Mrs Dell’s was hard to ignore.

“All I know is, you two will make the cutest couple!” she told Luke with way too much volume and enthusiasm. “Y’know this whole town has just been waiting for you to make your move with Lorelai.”

“Thank you for the encouragement, Babette” Luke rolled his eyes and tried to encourage her to be more tactful. “I’m glad to make everybody so happy, but if we could just not talk about this when she is right there....” he gesture vaguely towards the woman in question.

Babette turned around just as Lorelai left the room with Rory on her heels, telling her she really didn’t mind fetching some CDs from the house. Jess let his eyes wander to the Gilmore girls too, wondering if maybe now would be a good time to give chase. He really needed to talk to Rory and she was about to be very much alone on her walk home.

“So, Jess...” said Babette, and that made the decision for him.

“Sorry, I gotta go,” he said, getting up fast, leaving the book on the table as he flung his jacket on and hurried after Rory.

Luke opened his mouth to ask what he thought he was doing but never even got the chance.

* * *

Rory was in her bedroom with the door open, sorting through a large pile of CDs when she heard a noise at the back door. She wondered who would be knocking there when suddenly it opened and Jess peered inside.

“Hey,” she greeted him with a smile, coming out into the kitchen. “What are you...?”

“I just thought maybe you needed help,” he gestured to the CDs in her hands still. “I remember your taste in music had some issues so...”

Rory would’ve been affronted if she couldn’t tell from the smirk that he was teasing her. There was no way Jess was doubting her taste when it came to music. They liked a lot of the same stuff, and he had introduced her to much more that she had fallen in love when they were together, even before that.

“You’re still good at evasive,” she said, knowing he had to have a real reason for coming here, almost afraid of hearing what it was. “Jess...”

“I’m sorry,” he said suddenly. “Rory, I... When I came back here the last time, I just, I didn’t know what to do when I saw you. You just seemed to show up wherever I was, and I know you weren’t doing it on purpose, but every time I saw you I just thought it’d be easier if I got out of your way.”

“It wasn’t easier,” she shook her head sadly.

“I know that now. I knew it then, on some level, I just... I didn’t know how to tell you what I was feeling,” he admitted then. “You know how many people inspired me to say ‘I love you’?” he asked, and Rory genuinely wasn’t sure if that was rhetorical or not.

“I’m guessing not a lot,” she said softly, hoping she was right to speak up, eyes on the floor just in case she wasn’t.

“No, not a lot,” he agreed. “The exact number would be one.”

That got Rory’s attention in a second. It was shocking enough to hear that Jess loved her in the first place, but to know she was the only one he had ever cared for as much, it was overwhelming. She put the CDs down on the kitchen table with a clatter, turned to her room, turned back again. Her jaw worked with words unsaid, then her hand ran back over her forehead and through her hair. She just didn’t know what to do with this information.

“Rory, I’m not... You don’t have to say you feel the same way, that’s not why I...”

It was as far as he got with that particular train of thought when suddenly she was right in front of him. Jess barely got a chance to breathe before Rory’s lips were on his own. He took very little encouragement when she started to kiss him, he had to kiss her back. Jess let his arms wind around Rory as he pulled her close and the moment between them intensified.

When they parted seconds later from their kiss, they were still holding onto each other, both seemingly a little startled by what they’d done.

“Jess, I... I do love you,” she confessed. “I actually think I always have.”

Those words from her lips made his heart soar and the elation of it showed on his face. He believed her, after all, he had no reason for doubts, not anymore. To think all this was happening because Luke dumped a self-help book in his lap a week or so ago. Maybe there really was something to be said for communication. That being said (or at least thought) Jess didn’t really have any more words to share right now. It was too painful not to be kissing Rory, and she didn’t seem to mind at all as he took her breath away.

Neither were really aware they were moving until Rory’s legs hit the kitchen table. Jess spun her away from the obstacle, which was how she ended up with her back against the wall. It was more than just kissing by now, but then they were both used to that. Making out was what they were best at, always had been. That didn’t mean they couldn’t talk when they needed to, and apparently they were both willing to admit to being in love. When the time for words passed by, they got back to this, hands seeking skin, and a passion that had been on hold too long.

Rory shifted towards the door and stumbled back through it. She wouldn’t have said it was a deliberate move when she dropped back onto the bed, pulling Jess down with her. Maybe in retrospect she would realise it was, but all she knew in this moment was his lips on hers, his hands on her body, the need to just be closer.

Jess was very much aware of where they were and what they were doing. This was as close as he and Rory had ever gotten. There were a few close calls when they were dating, but when he tried his luck she said no, and he wasn’t the kind of guy to push after that. Now she wasn’t stopping him, in fact Rory was the one who got them to this point, lying together on her bed, locked together like they never wanted to let go, but he had to, now or never.

“Rory,” he gasped, pulling back, very deliberately removing himself from her body before he went so far he lost control.

“What...?” she looked shocked and painfully upset by the way he had backed off, picking herself up onto her elbows. “Jess, please, don’t run out on me again.”

“I’m not,” he assured her, even as his eyes betrayed him and flitted to the door. “I swear this is... I love you, Rory, you know that,” he reminded her, feeling bad that she looked so hurt, but he had to be better than before, he had to. “I do want you, you have no idea how much, but we just got back to a good place, and I... I can’t screw up with you again, I can’t,” he told her desperately, running a hand back through his hair, looking for an escape that didn’t seem possible without making this worse.

“I know, and I don’t want it to get screwed up either,” she agreed, standing up off the bed right in front of him. “Jess, I... I meant what I said, I love you too. I always thought I did, but these last few days have made me so sure,” she told him, putting her arms up around his neck. “I know it’d make more sense to take things slow, but do we really have to?”

She was killing him right now, Jess wasn’t sure if Rory realised that but she ought to know. All those times before when she told him no and then apologised because she knew how much that hurt him, emotionally, physically, to be pushed away. Now she was actually asking him to do this, and Jess felt his nerve going. It was ridiculous, they loved each other, he had wanted Rory and only her for more time than his passion-fogged brain could calculate right now.

“Rory,” he sighed, even as his fingers ran through her hair. “You have to be sure about this,” he told her definitely, hoping he was making himself abundantly clear.

They had been apart a year, but he was pretty sure she hadn’t dated any more than he had. Nothing serious, no significant other. It was just like picking up where they left off in so many ways, but this was still a big deal, this was still her first time, with anyone, and his first time with someone he actually gave a damn about. Oh yeah, it was a very big deal. When she kissed him softly then, Jess knew she understood that.

“I am,” she told him, pulling back to meet his eyes. “I’m so sure, Jess. I want this, and I want it to be you.”

That was all he needed to hear.


	6. Chapter 6

Rory felt different. She should have expected that, she supposed. Taking that leap into the unknown, having sex for the first time, it was always a big deal for any young woman, or man for that matter, she thought. The fact it was Jess that she had done this with, that was kind of amazing.

For the longest time she thought it would be Dean, and just when she had decided it would be Jess he had up and left. Now he was back, and he loved her, and she loved him. They had proven that love here in her bed, and whilst Rory couldn’t deny it wasn’t a one hundred percent pleasant experience, she wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Jess had been her first, and right now she wanted him to be her only, forever.

“You okay?” he checked, holding her close still.

“Yeah, I think so,” she told him breathlessly. 

They were both half-dressed, exhausted and overwhelmed by what just happened. 

There were things that needed to be said and they planned to get to that, and yet would never actually get the chance.

Rory started frowning when she heard the front door open and close with a slam and then her mother’s voice calling for her. Jess’ eyes widened the moment he realised they were about to be busted. Not that they’d really done anything wrong, but Jess knew Rory would be no more keen to be found half-naked here than he would.

Leaping up to get re-dressed and tidied up didn’t make Rory feel great, but she coped. She had no idea what her mom was saying, the words ‘Kirk’ and ‘band-aids’ seemed to come up, but mostly Rory was just trying to get her underwear back on and throw Jess’ shirt at him. They rushed out of the bedroom just in time before Lorelai had a chance to walk in through the open door. She started at their sudden appearance.

“Mom, hi,” Rory forced a smile and waved oddly at her mother. “Um, we were... Jess was helping me with the music and then...”

“And then..?” Lorelai prompted, looking at Jess who seemed to be trying to tuck his shirt in without making a big deal about it, and Rory pushing her hair back straight. “Oh my God!” she gasped then spotting the rumpled bed clothes and turning away.

Rory looked pained and Jess hated to see it. This had to be a case of the world’s worst timing, but there was no getting away from it now. What happened was done, and he wasn’t sorry, even if he would rather not have had Lorelai walk in right at this moment.

“Maybe you should go,” said Rory, turning to look at him.

“No,” Jess immediately shook his head, grabbing her hand in his own. “No, what we did, we did together,” he reminded her, looking at Lorelai when she turned around to face them again. “We both made the decision. I’m not running away.”

“Oh, you better run,” said Lorelai with a look. “And hey, isn’t that what you’re good at?”

Rory looked more affronted by that remark than Jess did.

“Mom!”

“I’m sorry, Rory, but this? I can’t even...” she shook her head, her hand covering her mouth a moment as she tried to find the right words to say.

Jess could actually see how this was tough on her. A mother coming home to find her only daughter with a guy in her room for the first time ever. That couldn’t be fun. At the same time, she was being perhaps a little over the top, and Jess couldn’t help but wonder if it was the sex bothering her, or the fact that he was the guy in this situation.

“Lorelai...” he tried to be reasonable, but she wouldn’t hear him out, not for a second.

“Don’t you talk to me!” she snapped, pointing an angry finger his way.

He wasn’t going to take that from her, not now. This was too big a deal to just walk, and he wasn’t about to leave Rory here alone to be made to feel bad or guilty about what they’d done, not a chance.

“We are adults,” he reminded Lorelai. “Okay, we’re both single, and not that it’s any of your business, but we love each other.”

She hadn’t expected that one, she had to admit it, even if only inside her own head. Lorelai had said she suspected Jess loved Rory and vice versa, though it would have suited her better if it were untrue. Still, as much as she half expected them to get back together before long, she really hadn’t seen this coming, just leaping into bed together after only one week of ‘reconnecting’ or whatever Rory had called it when she explained before.

“You do?” said Lorelai, meeting Jess’ eyes. “You love her?”

“Yes,” he said firmly, clearly as determined in all this as she was.

Rory just knew there was no chance of a calm and reasonable conversation between her mother and the man she just gave herself to. It would be a pretty miraculous situation for any two people in their positions to talk decently, Rory considered. She just needed to split them up for a while, make her mom see that everything was okay.

“Please, Jess, just go,” she urged him, getting his attention back, albeit he didn’t look impressed when he turned to face her. “She won’t calm down with you here,” she said softly, a hand on his chest and the other still grasped in his own.

Jess knew she had a point, but he hated it. Walking out on her after what they just did, it felt so wrong, but she was the one asking him to go and Rory did have her reasons. He sighed and put his hand to her cheek, looking deep into her eyes.

“No regrets?”

“None,” she promised with a smile he knew was genuine.

He returned that look without hesitation as he leaned in to plant a chaste kiss on her lips.

“That’s good,” he told her, a whisper against her lips, before he forced himself to turn away.

Jess picked his jacket up and walked out the back door, exactly where he had come in less than an hour before. Rory watched him go and let out a breath she barely knew she’d been holding. He had to go, nothing was going to get resolved until he did, but it hurt to see him walk out the door, even when she had been the one to ask him to.

Rory shook her head and turned towards her mother. Lorelai was still in the hallway, seemingly not sure where to turn or what to say.

“Mom, please, talk to me,” Rory urged her, coming closer. “I’m sorry it happened this way, that you walked in to this,” she explained, grabbing her mother’s arm. “But you know how I feel about Jess, you said yourself that you knew we loved each other.”

Lorelai looked at her daughter and felt her heart breaking. She didn’t want to be the bad guy here, and she didn’t want to spoil what ought to be a special moment for her little girl, the same little girl that was growing up way too fast.

“Yeah, I know,” she sighed. “And I also know how he hurt you, over and over,” she reminded her sadly.

Rory smiled in spite of that, she couldn’t help it.

“We got past that,” she explained. “He’s changed, I’ve changed, you know this,” she said, practically begging her to understand and see it from her point of view. “These last few days we’ve really talked, we’ve worked through things, reconnected. Mom, I love Jess and he loves me,” she grinned, gripping her mother’s hand tightly, “It’s a good thing.”

Lorelai sighed, feeling the tears welling in her eyes. She was glowing somehow, her little girl all happy and in love. It would be so easy to hate Jess Mariano for defiling her baby girl, but it was impossible right now, because Rory wasn’t a baby anymore. Rory was happy about this, she made an informed adult decision, just like Lorelai had always urged her to do, to think for herself. She couldn’t blame her for doing just that.

“Oh, I know,” she said, swallowing hard just so she wouldn’t cry. “As crazy as it seems right now, I do believe that you two love each other, and even that what you did probably wasn’t so bad,” she smiled, wiping under her eye before her mascara got destroyed.

“Then I don’t understand,” Rory shook her head, noticing her mother’s tears and wondering at it. “Like Jess said, we’re adults, we’re single, and we’re in love. So, there’s nothing wrong with what we did, is there?”

Lorelai couldn’t find a way to argue. When you loved somebody, really loved them, and trusted them with everything you had, that was the time to make a choice about this kind of thing. She could hardly preach waiting until you were married or anything like that, so Rory had done exactly what she had been advised by her mom. Wait until you’re of age, until the love between you and the guy is as certain as love can ever be, and one other thing.

“No, honey, there’s nothing wrong in it exactly,” she admitted. “Assuming you were..?”

“Yes, we were safe,” Rory confirmed, anticipating the question before it was even completely asked. “And we both wanted this. It was... well, okay, so a little awkward at first because the first time is... you know,” she shifted awkwardly, “but it was also beautiful.”

Lorelai felt so many emotions all at once, she just didn’t know what to do. Tears were streaming down her face as she pulled Rory to her and hugged her tight. Rory hugged back, feeling as emotional as her mother seemed.

“My baby is a woman,” she heard Lorelai say. “A woman in love no less,” she almost laughed as she pulled back to look at her.

“She is,” Rory confirmed.

It was hard to tell if the two of them were laughing or crying at that point, but it didn’t really matter. Rory was just glad of her mother’s understanding, and Lorelai was only glad her kid had the sense to be safe and sensible when she took such a big step. She meant what she said, her baby was a woman now, in just about as many senses as she could think of. That was going to take some getting used to.

* * *

When Jess got back to the Dragonfly Inn, he came in the front door to find Luke trudging down the stairs, seemingly exhausted and yet grinning.

“What’s going on?” he asked curiously.

“Not much,” his uncle shrugged. “Kirk being Kirk.”

“Yeah, I heard something about him needing band aids,” he recalled just vaguely at the Gilmore house when he was throwing on his clothes.

“Don’t ask,” Luke advised, shaking his head. “Is something different with you?” he asked then.

Jess smirked at the question. Anybody would think he was the virgin girl who just went all the way. They were the ones who were supposed to seem different after, but then he knew today had been kind of a first for him too. Sex was one thing, but making love with Rory was like nothing else. Not that he was about to tell Luke all about that, not right now, probably not at all.

“Er, me and Rory are... I guess we’re back together,” he said, pushing his hair back of his face.

“Really?” Luke grinned all the wider. “Well, that’s great!” he declared, slapping Jess on the back.

“I like to think so.”

“Does that mean you’re sticking around?”

“We didn’t get a chance to talk it all through yet.”

“Oh, okay.”

There they stood then, awkward as anything in the hallway of the inn, neither knowing what to say next. Neither was prepared to go anywhere else while they were waiting for Lorelai and Rory to come back, and yet neither was really willing to say too much more about what was going on with them either.

“So you and Lorelai,” said Jess after a while. “That actually happening this time?”

“I like to think so,” Luke nodded, much like Jess had moments before.

His nephew tried not to laugh at how dumb they were both being right now, and over the Gilmore girls no less.

“You think we’re gone live to regret this?” he asked, seriously considering the idea they might in fact be crazy.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” his uncle assured him.

Maybe they were crazy, but Jess couldn’t help but agree there wouldn’t be any regrets involved. Nobody was ever going to make him as happy as Rory could, nobody, and if Luke was finally getting his chance with Lorelai, well, like he told Rory before, as far as Jess was concerned it was no less than his uncle deserved.

Sticking around in Stars Hollow certainly hadn’t been the plan when he came back for Liz’s wedding, but Jess couldn’t deny he was thinking very seriously about it now. Just as soon as he could, he planned to talk to Rory about all this, that was for sure. For as long as she was here, he couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else, not now they were back together. This was home, at least for now.


	7. Chapter 7

It felt strange going back to the inn. After what had happened the night before, Rory decided to stay home and sleep there. Lorelai agreed not to say anything and if anybody asked, just say Rory had gone to bed already. It wasn’t a lie, she had, just not at the Dragonfly as would be assumed. It had been quite the night all in all, and though Rory had no regrets over what she and Jess had done, she did think it might’ve been nicer if the afterglow hadn’t been cut so short. Spending the entire night in Jess’ arms would have been nice, but there was time for that in the future, at least Rory hoped so. She didn’t regret what happened and he had seemed willing to stand by her in front of Lorelai, but Rory needed to talk to Jess. It was the lack of serious conversations that messed them up last time, amongst other things. She wasn’t going to make that same mistake again.

Walking into the inn early next morning, Rory was a little surprised to literally run into Luke.

“Oh, hey, Luke,” she smiled up at him, feeling strange.

She had no idea if he knew what happened with her and Jess. Whilst it didn’t strike her as something Jess would do, telling his uncle that he had sex, she had no way of knowing for sure.

“Rory, hi,” he smiled back at her. “You okay?”

“Uh, yeah,” she nodded, pushing her hair back off her face. “Um, did Jess leave already?”

“No, no, he’s still upstairs,” Luke assured her, hefting his bag higher on his shoulder. “I have to get back to the diner, but apparently there’s a book Jess just has to finish,” he rolled his eyes. “He’s up in the room if you wanted to...”

“Thanks,” Rory nodded hurrying off up the stairs before another word was spoken.

Luke watched her go with a grin he couldn’t help. For both their sakes, he really hoped things could work out between Rory and Jess this time. There was no doubt in his mind that they loved each other a lot. If they could just communicate better, but then he was only just now learning to do that himself with Lorelai.

“Hi,” the very woman on his mind suddenly appeared at Luke’s side. 

“Hey,” he smiled at her. “Er, Rory was here. She just went up to see Jess,” he explained, gesturing up the stairs. “Did you know they were back together?”

“Yes, I did know that,” Lorelai nodded once with a smile that wasn’t quite comfortable on her face.

Luke lost his own ability to smile at that moment.

“You’re still not happy,” he sighed, hating that it seemed to be too late for her and Jess to start over and be friends or something.

Lorelai shook her head.

“No, I am happy... kind of” she explained, even as Luke looked questioningly at her. “It’s fine, honestly. She loves him and he loves her. Just got to cross my fingers and hope you guys are right about the whole Jess changing and growing up thing, I guess,” she shrugged.

“We are,” Luke promised her. “He won’t make the mistakes he did before, not now. He knows better.”

“I hope so, especially now they’re... well, closer than ever,” she said pointedly, not even noticing that Luke didn’t seem to understand what she meant by that. “I’m sorry, Luke. I know Jess is your nephew and everything but I just worry about Rory.”

“I know” he agreed. “Sometimes she worries about you too.”

“Yeah, but she doesn’t need to, at least I hope she doesn’t.”

“Does she need to?” Luke looked confused and Lorelai didn’t wonder at it since she was making little sense here. “I don’t...”

“Well, I was just...” she began again, then promptly stopped and looked around in all directions. “Um, come on.”

Lorelai grabbed Luke’s arm and started walking. There were people in the reception area, and in the lounge. The dining room contained Sookie talking to a few guests and the rest of the cooking staff were in the kitchen. Outside, staff and guests both were wandering around, Taylor with his comment cards and Miss Patty and Babette gossiping up a storm. There seemed to be people just about everywhere, which was great news for the inn, Lorelai supposed, but it was no good when she really needed to have a private conversation with her maybe-boyfriend. Eventually she found an empty space. Stepping in she dragged Luke with her and closed the door, flipping on the light with her other hand.

“Seriously?” he grumbled, dropping his bag down onto the floor between them, though there was barely room to do so. “We’re going to talk about this in a closet?”

“Talk about what?” she checked, so nervous that they were really not on the same page after everything that had happened.

“Lorelai...” he began, as exasperated as she was nervous apparently.

“Last night,” she cut in, eyes closed as she focused on what she was saying, unable to look at him while she was doing so, at least at first. “What happened with us last night, that was... wow,” she said then, finally opening her eyes. “I never expected... or I guess I did, but... I’m glad it happened,” she smiled brightly.

Luke let out a breath he hardly knew he had been holding.

“You are? Me too,” he agreed.

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

There was an awkward pause where they both just grinned like idiots, not sure what in the heck they were supposed to say or do next. It was like being giddy teenagers just falling in love, but not quite as simple somehow. Kids just threw themselves into things and damn the consequences. Luke and Lorelai had been through too much up to now to allow themselves to be so flippant.

“So, um, we’re going to do this,” said Lorelai eventually. “I mean, date? Be together?”

“I’d like to think so,” Luke nodded in agreement.

“Then that’s agreed,” she smiled, leaning in closer. “Shake on it,” she offered.

Luke took the hand she held out, and pulled her even closer, their noses practically touching.

“I can think of better things,” he told her, lips suddenly on hers, one arm wrapping around her waist to keep her as close as possible.

Lorelai literally fell into the moment, her feet catching on Luke’s bag as she pressed herself up against him. This felt good, and not just the kiss, although that was incredible, it was the knowing this was real, that it was actually going to happen for them, at last. She was trying not to laugh when they parted from their kiss, her hands clasped behind Luke’s neck so he couldn’t get away even if he wanted to.

“I feel like I’m fifteen,” she giggled. “Hiding out in a closet to make out with the hottest guy in school.”

“You’re crazy” Luke told her, though he was laughing too, because to him, she was just about as perfect as she was nuts right now.

“And you love it,” she grinned, knowing it too.

Luke didn’t need to answer that, he just kissed her some more.

* * *

Jess wasn’t really paying rapt attention to the outside world when there was a forceful knock on the door. He called for whoever it was to come in, not even considering who it might be wanting to see him.

“Hi,” said a voice he knew very well and immediately Jess gave his full attention to her.

“Rory,” he smiled, diving off the bed and abandoning the book without a moment’s thought.

“Hey” she smiled too, though she looked awkward as hell.

There they stood in silence between the door and the bed, neither knowing what to say or do next. She moved as if to kiss him just as he was about to back up. He realised his mistake but too late as she shied away when he thought about moving in. It had to look like the most ridiculous dance from the outside and Rory laughed as a blush rose in her cheeks.

“This is just... How can this be so awkward after we...?”

“I think it’s probably because we...” said Jess, copying her own vague gesture and a lack of words for what it was they had done.

“Could be,” Rory agreed, shifting her feet, shoving her hands in her back pockets and wondering where all the words had gone that she came to say.

Jess took pity on her. For all that she had come to seek him out, she seemed to have forgotten why or just felt too strange to say what she wanted to. He at least had words in his head enough to say, so he did.

“You figure things out with your mom?” he checked. “I mean, I’m guessing she calmed down some, since I still have all the appendages I had yesterday,” he smiled.

“She’s okay,” Rory nodded. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s you so much as what we did. Pretty sure she would’ve freaked out if she found me with anybody that way.”

Jess frowned a little at that.

“You are an adult, Rory,” he reminded her as she seemed to turn into a nervous child before his eyes.

She shook her head.

“I know that and Mom knows it too, she just... she’s protective and I guess it was kind of a surprise.”

Jess had to admit the last part was certainly true. He hadn’t the experience to know how a parent felt when they found their child in a compromising position, no matter what age, but he supposed it wouldn’t be fun or at all comfortable. He sighed.

“I guess,” he agreed. “Y’know it wasn’t exactly a plan I had when I came to talk to you.”

“Me either,” she told him. “But I’m still not sorry it happened. I meant everything I said last night, Jess,” she said definitely, suddenly bold as she stepped in closer to him. “And what we did, I don’t regret it, not at all.”

She was practically shaking with nerves and it was endearing in it’s way. She couldn’t claim to be a virgin anymore, terrified or otherwise, but this was still a big deal. Everything with them always had been, and last night had been Rory’s first time ever. So many men would take what they wanted and cast a woman aside, but for all of his supposed bad boy reputation, Jess was never that guy, especially not with someone as special as Rory. He would hope she knew that, even if no-one else did.

“C’mere,” he urged her, pulling her closer and kissing her softly

What started out sweet and gentle soon intensified into something else entirely. Last night had been a huge deal, and they did need to talk about it, but they had gotten as far as determining neither of them regretted it and that seemed to be enough for now. They loved each other, they wanted to let this happen. Rory knew it was supposed to be even better the second time, less painful and awkward certainly. She so wanted this to happen and could think of no reason not to let it when she and Jess ended up on the bed together.

“We should really talk,” she said anyway, between fevered kisses and gasps of passion.

“We should,” he replied, even as he worked the buttons of her shirt open.

There was definitely a conversation still to have about the future, but her fingers tangled in his hair and his lips on her neck were clouding judgement on both sides.

“Important conversations to have,” she mumbled against his skin as he helped her out of her shirt.

“Real important,” he agreed, feeling her hands stray to his belt.

“Is the door locked?” she asked and that made Jess break out of the passion filled haze long enough to smirk.

“So, talking later then?”

“Oh, yeah.”

* * *

“Wow,” said Rory from the circle of Jess’ arms.

“Yeah, I’ll agree with that,” he smiled, kissing her bare shoulder.

There was hardly room enough in the bed for two, being a single and all, but they managed, just as they had last night in Rory’s own room. The place wasn’t important it was the people that mattered, the love that existed between them, the passion that was spent for now but very real when it erupted between them. Rory felt like she could happily stay here forever, just like this. Of course, that all depended on how things were going from here, hence the conversation she and Jess were supposed to have been having when they fell into bed together... again. Even now his lips at her neck and fingers on her skin were distracting her, in the best way possible, of course, but this so wasn’t a good time when they really had to figure some things out.

“Jess...” she complained half-heartedly, shifting onto her side to meet his eyes. “We really do need to talk.”

“I know,” he sighed, settling down beside her. “This is kind of a big deal, us being us again,” he said, reaching out to push Rory’s hair behind her ear.

“Exactly. I mean, it’s great, I’m glad, but what happens after this?” she asked in earnest. “You have a life in New Yok, an apartment and a job...”

“A crappy apartment and a minimum wage job,” he scoffed “Rory, I... I left here thinking we would both be better off with me gone. Honestly, after California, I had no idea what I was going to do, where I was going to go. New York was like a default setting, and it has not been fun,” he told her definitely, hand lingering at her cheek still. “Y’know, I spent so long thinking all I wanted to do was get out of Stars Hollow, but once I was gone, all I could think about was coming home to you.”

Rory wanted to cry and smile all at the same time at those words. Sometimes Jess said such beautiful things. She was so happy that they were getting a second chance. At the same time, it hurt to realise how much time they had wasted up to now.

“Why did we let things go so wrong?”

“You and me... it was complicated,” he shook his head slightly, “but it doesn’t have to be now. I couldn’t... I didn’t know how to be the guy you deserved, Rory, but I can do it now, I can handle it, I swear.”

“Me too,” she agreed, pushing herself closer. “I want you to talk to me, Jess, when you need to, I mean. I want us to treat each other better and make it work. It’s all I want.”

“You are all I want,” he countered, kissing her softly.

“So, you’re going to stay in Stars Hollow?” she checked, fingers absently playing with his hair.

“Yeah, I’m going to stay,” he told her with a smile. “I mean, I’ll be honest, if we could start over away from this crazy place, I’d probably like it better, but I’d never ask you to leave, not now, not when everything you have is here,” he explained honestly. “You have family and Yale and your house. This is where you need to be. It’s your home, so for as long as you’re here, I guess it’s my home too.”

She kissed him this time, long and deep, so he knew how much it meant to her. Jess said his life wasn’t so great in New York, that it wasn’t a big deal to give it up, but it was. It was the freedom he was letting go of in order to stay here with her, for her, because this was her home.

“Y’know,” he said, deliberately pulling back however reluctantly, “we should really get up before your Mom finds us...again,” he smirked.

“Oh God!” 

Rory leapt out of bed just as soon as that thought hit home, throwing on her clothes like a crazy person. Jess stayed put a moment, watching her with an appreciative gaze that was a boyfriend’s privilege at such a moment. Boyfriend. He felt weird about that term the first time it applied to him. Now, he didn’t care what title he was given, just so long as he was with Rory. They had wasted way too much time already.

Rory caught him staring and blushed just like always.

“Jess!” she admonished him, though was still smiling even as she threw his pants at his head.

He laughed at her and she soon joined in, the two of them practically giddy in the glow of being back together and in love. They were both soon dressed and met by the door more by accident than design. She reached for the door knob but he pulled her back and planted one more kiss on her lips. Rory met is eyes in the next moment wondering at the intensity of his gaze upon her.

“I love you,” he told her, so much like that moment six months ago, only this time he wasn’t running

“I love you too,” she replied with a smile.

This time, it was going to be okay.


	8. Chapter 8

“You had sex with Jess?!”

Immediately that Lane exploded, Rory tried to shush her. She was in no way ashamed of what she and Jess had done last night (and again this morning) but she could use the whole band not hearing her business that way. Still, she couldn’t help but laugh at Lane’s exclamation and her expression too. She looked utterly stunned, and Rory wasn’t all that amazed to realise it. Jess only came back to town a little over a week ago for his mother’s wedding, and the last time she and Lane talked about that situation, Rory still had no idea how she was going to deal. Now suddenly she was here telling her best friend that not only had she decided to reboot her relationship with Jess, but she had taken that big step and had sex too.

“It really wasn’t a plan,” she admitted. “I mean, I knew as soon as I saw him again that I still had some kind of feelings, but... I don’t know, everything was left so undefined before. Then we were just standing in my kitchen having this really intense conversation. He said he loved me, and I kissed him, and... and it just happened,” she smiled so wide.

Lane didn’t know what to say. She had seen the damage done when her best friend’s relationship with Jess blew apart. Because of her role as Rory’s BFF, she always backed her and supported her no matter what, but in her heart Lane knew that not every part of the split was Jess’ fault. They probably would’ve had a better shot if he was a little less selfish and closed off, but at the same time, Rory could’ve been a better girlfriend. She had a habit of comparing Jess to Dean, acting as if she made a big mistake moving from one guy to the other. Lane never really thought that was fair, though she said not a word about it. She still wouldn’t now. Chief amongst her thoughts was one question she really needed the answer to, and it spilled out of her mouth ahead of everything else.

“So, how was it?” 

Rory blushed fiercely just thinking about answering that. She pushed her hair back off her face and shifted uncomfortably, knowing she had to say something.

“It was... beautiful,” she admitted. “A little awkward at first, obviously, but after that,” she smiled all the more. “The second time was even better.”

“I’ll bet it was,” Lane grinned back at her. “Wow, you actually did it, and with Jess! You always said you thought he’d be the first,” she recalled.

“Took a little while,” said Rory thoughtfully. “But I am glad it was him. Y’know, I admit, recently, me and Dean have been talking again and... well, I was starting to think maybe...

“Rory, he’s married!”

“Lane?” called Zach from the next room. “Are you coming to practise or what?”

Neither girl was sure if he had heard her explosion about Dean’s relationship status, but Rory in particular hoped not. Lane had her hand clamped over her mouth a moment and then mouthed ‘sorry’ to her friend before calling to Zach she would just be a few more minutes.

“I know it would’ve been wrong,” said Rory quietly. “And not just because Dean is married. I did love him, and I think a part of me always will, but it’s not the same, it never was. I am so in love with Jess, I’m not sure I ever stopped being in love with him actually. It took him coming back and us having a chance to reconnect for me to realise, I guess.”

Lane sighed dreamily, thinking how great it must be to be in love like that. She and Dave had been on a good path until he up and moved to California. Now she had no-one and even if she had, she doubted it would be anything like what Rory and Jess had. For all the drama in the beginning, it was clear from the get go they were perfect for each other, and finally it seemed they were going to get some kind of happy ending.

“So, he’s staying, right?” she checked then. “I mean, you’re not running off to New York or wherever.”

“Nope, both staying right here,” Rory grinned in response. “Jess said he would rather be with me away from the wackiness of the Hollow, but he understands that this is my home. Honestly, I don’t think he hates it as much as he says. For one thing, Luke means more to him than he’s willing to admit.”

“Maybe,” considered Lane. “But he wouldn’t be staying if not for you, Miss Gilmore,” she told her with a giggle. “He really loves you.”

“I really love him.”

“Then you two are just so lucky!”

“Oh, we might not be the only ones either,” said Rory then, even as Zach hammered on the door and Gil warned everybody he had to be gone by six to pick up his kids. “Maybe I should tell you later.”

“No, no. Tell me now, just one sec,” said Lane, rushing over to the door and opening it so suddenly that Zach almost fell in on top of her. “Five minutes, guys, and we will be done. Just sit down and shut up for that long, okay?” she urged them, sounding perhaps a little too much like her own mother.

Just as soon as Lane returned to sit down on the bed again, Rory spoke fast.

“My mom and Luke might be just as lucky as me and Jess. They’re together now,” she grinned.

“Luke and Lorelai? At long last!” enthused Lane. “Wow, I was starting to think that would never happen.”

“I know, but it has. Ever since Liz’s wedding things have been different, and then last night after me and Jess... well, I talked to my mom and she admitted she and Luke had kissed and things might be happening there.”

“Great, that’s great,” said Lane, still smiling but perhaps not quite so genuinely now. “I mean, you have Jess, Lorelai has Luke, and I have... pain-in-the-butt band-mates,” she sighed heavily.

“Aaaw, Lane,” Rory sympathised, leaning in to hug her friend. “It’ll happen for you, give it time.”

“I know” she sighed once more. “But hey, in the meantime, I intend to live vicariously through you. So anything else good happens, my ears are ready for the details.”

“All the details?” asked Rory as they pulled apart, the look on her face bordering on the grossed out.

“Well, not all the details. What am I, a pervert?” said Lane shaking her head. “No detailed drawings, just a nice blurry water-colour,” she explained, making Rory giggle.

“That’s a deal,” she promised, back to smiling widely.

She was just so happy right now.

* * *

It was getting late in the day, almost time to close up the diner. Jess had been waiting to talk to Luke about his plans for the future since he really didn’t feel like saying anything where the whole town could hear. All it took was for Miss Patty, Babette, or even Kirk to hear half a sentence and a whole invented story was around the town within three point five seconds. Jess couldn’t handle that, not now, not when things were so good. It was hard to keep the smile off his face actually, which was a little different for a guy like him.

Being back with Rory was literally like a dream come true, and for all that he had spent two years trying to get out of this place, it didn’t seem half so bad this time around. Maybe it was just because Jess got to make the choice now. Nobody sent him here or tried to keep him tied down when his only wish was to run. He offered to stay because he wanted to be with Rory. What he told her was the truth, that this was his home for as long as she was here. He meant every word of that, but it was easier said than done.

After all he had put him through, Jess knew Luke wound still help him out if he could, but to stay here at the apartment, maybe even take on shifts in the diner until he could get another job, that might be asking too much.

When closing time finally came and Luke locked up the front door, Jess came down from upstairs where he had been sat waiting for this moment. He grabbed a cloth and started wiping down tables without being asked, stacking chairs up as he went. When Luke turned around and saw him, he smiled.

“You really don’t have to do that,” he told his nephew. “You don’t work here anymore.”

“I know,” said Jess, not looking up from what he was doing. “But I, er, I actually wanted to talk to you about that, the working here thing,” he said vaguely, putting the chairs up onto the next table over.

He got a surprise when he looked up and found his uncle right in front of him. Luke put a hand on Jess’ shoulder and smiled.

“Jess, I told you before, I’m always here for you. Now if you need a job or a place to sleep or anything, it’s yours,” he told him easily.

Jess never did know how to take that type of kindness, or any type most of the time. His father was absent for almost all of his life, and he might’ve been better off if his mother had been too. So-called friends came and went, and nobody cared much for young Jess Mariano, nobody until he came here to Stars Hollow, to his uncle, and to Rory. They wanted what was best for him, to help him and support him. It hadn’t seemed much like when Luke wanted to help in the beginning, and Jess hadn’t felt he needed it even when it did. He knew better now, and he was grateful.

“It’d only be temporary,” he said, eyes to the floor a moment before he made himself meet Luke’s gaze. “Me and Rory are... well, you know we’re back together, and she needs to be here, so that’s where I’m gonna be too. Eventually I’ll find a job and hopefully get a place of my own, but for now...”

“For now, you’re gonna stay right here,” said Luke definitely. “I can always use an extra pair of hands in the diner, and hey, you’re the one who helped me make that apartment big enough for two.”

Jess smirked at that, remembering the day vividly.

“So long as we don’t have to hold hands and skip.”

Luke chuckled at that, mimed smacking Jess upside his head but just messed up his hair instead. He immediately regretted it when his fingers came away gunged up with gel.

“Finish those tables, smart-mouth,” he said, still smiling despite the mock-demand.

“Yes, Uncle Luke,” Jess smirked, saluting with his free hand as he went back to wiping surfaces and stacking chairs. “And thanks,” he called behind him, even as Luke disappeared out back.

He pretended not to hear him but Jess knew better. Luke took thanks about as well as he himself took help, but it was cool. They had an understanding here, a deal between two adults rather than a kid feeling like he was being talked down to by an authority figure he barely knew and couldn’t quite respect before. Above all Jess knew that having Luke take him back in at the diner and the apartment meant staying with Rory was going to be that much easier now. That alone made him smile.

* * *

“See, I told you there wouldn’t be a problem,” said Rory with a smile.

She was sat on her bed in her own room where she had taken the phone just as soon as she realised Jess was calling. She would’ve questioned why he didn’t come over but it was pretty late, besides which, he still seemed to have reservations about just showing up at the Gilmore house right now, even though Rory assured him Lorelai was definitely done with being mad at him for ‘deflowering her baby girl’.

“I know you did,” he agreed, similarly sat on his own bed at the diner apartment whilst Luke was in the shower. “So, that’s it, definitely staying. Too late to change your mind and tell me to take a hike,” he joked, and yet somehow Rory couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a hint of genuine worry in his voice.

“Jess, I am not going to change my mind about you,” she promised him. “After everything we’ve been through, nothing can tear us apart this time. I mean, not unless you’re changing your mind...”

“Not a chance, Gilmore,” he told her definitely. “This time is for keeps, you’re not getting rid of me again.”

“Best thing I heard all day,” she sighed happily, laying back on her bed.

“Really?” he smirked. “’Cause the best thing I heard today was a beautiful woman telling me she loved me and practically screaming my name.”

He didn’t have to see Rory to know she was blushing the deepest shade of red at that remark. She was laughing and yelling his name in a whole different way then, admonishing him for saying such things to her, but the embarrassed look on her face was definite and easy enough to see in his mind’s eye.

“What? I was just being honest,” he said, laughing along with her, at least for a moment anyway. “Why does a couple of blocks away suddenly seem like way too far?” he asked so seriously it made Rory shiver.

“I don’t know,” she lied, knowing full well what he meant, but not willing to think about it.

Just talking about what they had done together this morning, as well as last night, it made her want him all over again. There were impracticalities to that, what with her mom and his uncle living with them at their respective homes. Still, it wasn’t as if that was all there was to this relationship they shared, and there would be opportunities in the not-so-distant future, Rory was sure.

“You picked a good time to come home,” she said then. “School’s out ‘til September. I am pretty much all yours until then.”

“I like the sound of that,” said Jess, and though it probably came off like he was still talking about sex he actually wasn’t, which he was quick to point out. “I missed you, being able to just be around you, talk to you, kiss you,” he told her, thinking of so many long days and nights when they were apart.

Rory bit her lip as happy tears filled her eyes. Jess wasn’t much for fancy words most of the time. He knew them well enough, he had to from all his extensive reading but he was usually pretty straight-forward in what he said and what he meant. Sometimes though, he expressed himself so beautifully, and Rory loved that it was probably only her that ever got to hear such things from him.

“I love you,” she told him softly.

“Love you too,” he promised, as he heard the water shut off in the bathroom and knew Luke would be out soon. “Goodnight, Rory.”

“Goodnight, Jess, see you tomorrow.”

It was so good to hear her say that, Jess thought, as he hung up the phone and stared at it a moment. He would see her tomorrow, and the next day, and after that. No waiting and wondering if and when he might be here again, or when she might show up on his doorstep. He never had really expected Rory to come find him, but he had dreamt about it, as he dreamt of coming back here. Some of those dreams had turned into nightmares when he let worry and fear take hold. Things just seemed to screw up all around Jess Mariano and around those he cared about. He felt like a magnet for crap sometimes, and it still bothered him when he thought about it too much, but now wasn’t the time. Right now things were good. He had a job, a place to stay, and the woman he loved. The smile was back on Jess’ face and he couldn’t see it leaving any time soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Jess had to go pick up the remainder of his stuff from New York. There wasn’t much, nothing that he had trusted his so-called room-mates to look after, but a few things he had in a storage locker that he wasn’t prepared to let go of. He also had to pick up the last paycheque from his messenger job, and another from a restaurant he helped out at for a while. Rory offered to take the trip with him, until Jess told her he planned to leave first thing in the morning, getting up when Luke did at four-thirty and pretty much heading straight out. Rory’s expression had been a sight to see, horrified as she was at the prospect of being out of bed, dressed, and ready for a road trip at such an ungodly hour. Jess assured her he was fine going by himself and he would catch up with her later.

Strangely, Rory seemed to wake up early anyway. Not quite as early as would have been necessary if she had been travelling with Jess but still the wrong side of eight for a day when she had nothing she needed to do. It took a moment to realise that the reason was because somebody was rapping on the front door.

“Mom?” she called, levering herself out of bed and padding out into the hall.

“I got it, sweets,” Lorelai promised as she came hurrying down the stairs, fixing a clip into her hair.

She rushed for the front door as someone continued to hammer on it like the world was ending. Lorelai got a real surprise when she opened said door and found Luke on the other side looking pretty freaked out.

“Luke, what happened?” she asked immediately, sure something bad had occurred from the look on his face.

Rory came rushing the moment she heard the barely-veiled panic in her mother’s voice. Luke was worried and that was never good, since the guy rarely let things get to him and even less often showed emotion. There were few people that could cause such feeling in Luke, and given that Lorelai and herself were stood in front of him, completely oblivious as to what was going on, Rory immediately thought of her boyfriend.

“Is Jess okay?” she checked, glad of her mother’s arm around her the moment she arrived at her side.

“Er, yeah, Jess is fine, as far as I know anyway,” Luke shook his head. “I haven’t heard from him since he left this morning, but what I came here for was... it’s about Liz,” he explained.

Rory felt bad for the sigh of relief she let out then. If something was wrong with Luke’s sister then obviously that wasn’t good, but she couldn’t help but be glad to know Jess was okay. Lorelai ushered her boyfriend inside and encouraged him to sit down on the couch. She took the chair and Rory perched on the arm, wondering what news she was about to hear.

“So I just got a call from a hospital up in Maine. Seems Liz and T.J. got into a car accident,” Luke explained.

“Oh my God, Luke, I’m so sorry. Are they okay?” his girlfriend asked worriedly as she reached for his hand.

“I don’t know really. I mean, they’re alive, not in any real danger from what I could tell,” he told her, as she held onto his fingers. “There was something about fractures, but it was pretty bad line and I have to admit I was a little panicked by the whole thing.”

“Poor Liz and T.J.,” said Rory with genuine sympathy in her tone.

She didn’t care much for Jess’ mother and she had good reasons for that, but the idea of anyone breaking bones in a car wreck was not a happy one. Besides, Liz and T.J. had been nothing but polite to her at their wedding, she couldn’t wish anything really bad to happen to them, it just wasn’t in Rory Gilmore’s nature to do so.

“So, what happens now?” asked Lorelai worriedly, pushing her hair back off her face. “Um, do you need to go?”

“I should,” Luke nodded. “If Jess were here... well, I don’t know that he would necessarily want to go and see Liz right now, but he could at least help cover the diner while I’m gone. If I go, I mean, like I said, I’m not even sure how bad it is, whether they need me at all.”

He looked panicked and it was just too weird for the Gilmore girls. Luke got stressed sometimes, usually over things nobody else would care about. He allowed Taylor to wind him up so tight, he let Kirk get to him, lost his mind over people talking on cell phones in the diner, chewed out Bootsy just for breathing when he was in one of his bear with a sore head moods. Nothing serious seemed to rattle him. He just took control, helped out, did whatever he could. It occurred to Lorelai that was exactly how he behaved when she or Rory needed him, when Jess needed him. When it came to Luke himself needing help, he wasn’t great at asking for it. Lorelai had a feeling that’s what this was about right now.

“Okay,” she said, taking control the way Luke always did when she was panicking. “Well, you should go, regardless,” she told him definitely. “You won’t be happy until you see they’re okay, so I’ll come over to the diner now, we’ll get your stuff packed. Um, Rory, honey, could you go get dressed and... oh, I don’t know what we’re going to do about the diner. Can Caesar run it for a while?” she asked Luke.

“He can for a little while today, but I could be gone for days...” he said, shaking his head.

“We’ll handle it,” said Rory suddenly, getting shocked stares from both adults as a result. “Hey, we may not be able to cook but we can waitress and clean up and all the other stuff. It’s just for a few days and we did it before.”

“Yes! Yes, we did that!” said Lorelai with a sudden grin and a shed load of enthusiasm as she recalled the time.

Sure, it had been bad for Luke when his uncle died, but she had definitely enjoyed her time waiting tables in the diner, yelling out the old fashioned terms for various dishes and numbering Luke’s tables while his back was turned. She and Rory, plus Jess and Caesar, they had made it work somehow.

“I don’t know, Lorelai,” groaned Luke, adjusting his cap. “I mean, it’s a lot of work and you just...”

“We can do it, Luke,” she insisted, hands on his shoulders as she made him focus on her eyes. “Rory is here all Summer, no college studies to worry about. Jess will be back later today, he has all the experience we need. Caesar can cook, I can fit in shifts around the inn, and we can cope until you get back, okay?”

Luke stared back into her eyes and would hardly believe how lucky he was to have Lorelai in his life. She was just this amazing person, in so many ways he couldn’t even begin to describe. In five minutes she had managed to calm him down from a real panic about his sister, the diner, and a hundred other things, as well as solve every crazy problem he had been coming up with for the past half hour.

“Have I told you how amazing you are?” he asked her helplessly.

“It was implied,” she shrugged, happy to fall into the hug he gave her and the kiss that came after.

Rory backed off to her room when the kissing started. It wasn’t that she wasn’t totally happy for her mom and Luke, she was genuinely glad they were together, but bearing witness to their PDA seemed a little wrong still. Back in her room she turned one way and then the other, torn between picking out an outfit appropriate for work in the diner, and calling Jess. It was pointless and she knew it, even as she picked up her phone, thumb soon hovering over the speed-dial for Jess’ cell. If he wasn’t driving there was still a chance he wouldn’t answer because he had his hands full or was too busy or whatever. If he did pick up, Rory wouldn’t know what to say to him. Telling Jess about his mom and T.J. when she didn’t even have all the information, it would be unfair. She didn’t feel right about doing it, especially when Luke probably meant to do it himself. Tossing the phone back on the bed, Rory headed for the closet to pick out clothes already. Luke needed her and Mom to help him first. When Jess got home later, then they would deal with his reaction to what had happened. One step at a time.

* * *

It was almost two in the afternoon when Jess came past the ‘Welcome to Stars Hollow’ sign. His early start had definitely helped in getting him to New York and back in pretty decent time. The remainder of his stuff, meagre as it was, filled the trunk and back-seat of his car, and in his back pocket he had one cheque and a reasonable sized chunk of change from two jobs he had now left behind. It was weird how Jess found himself smiling, knowing he was headed home. Stars Hollow, a place he tried to escape so long and now he honestly couldn’t wait to start a new phase of his life there with the woman he loved, and the only member of his family he could truly rely on.

Pulling up outside of the diner, Jess was a little surprised to find he had to park behind Luke’s truck, and that it seemed to be packed up for a journey of some kind. He was frowning as he climbed out of his car and met Luke coming the other way down the sidewalk. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lorelai and Rory rushing between tables through the large glass panes of the diner windows. Something was wrong.

“Who died?” he asked Luke straight.

Honestly, it could be taken as a joke that came off the back of Luke’s grave expression, or an actual reference to the time Lorelai mentioned earlier, helping out when Uncle Louis passed. Luke wasn’t sure which Jess was going for but it really didn’t matter anyway.

“Nobody died,” he said definitely. “But... well, the thing is, I got a call from a hospital in Maine. Your mom and T.J., they had an accident, nothing life threatening,” he said quickly, his hand on Jess’ shoulder. “At first, I was just going up there to see what was happening, but then Liz finally called me herself and, well, each one of them broke an arm and a leg, so anyhow, they can't run the Renaissance Fair booth for a couple of weeks. So they asked me to come and help them out, and I, unfortunately, am a sap, so...”

He trailed off, rolling his eyes at himself for being a good person apparently. Jess couldn’t blame him for that. If it wasn’t for Luke being such a fine human being, Jess was sure he wouldn’t have turned out the way he had so far. This man turned his life around, and between Luke and Rory, well, Jess was pretty sure he owed everything to the two of them. It sucked to have his uncle disappear out of town right when he got back here, but Jess understood.

“Er, please tell me you weren’t waiting around to ask if I wanted to go with you?” he asked, shaking his head.

Luke almost laughed at his expression.

“No, definitely not,” he told him with a smile. “I mean, I would take you if I thought for a second you’d wanna go, but I know how things are with you and your mom, so... well, actually, I was hoping that you would do me an even bigger favour,” he said seriously, looking his newphew in the eye. “You asked me the other day if you could work in the diner again. Well, how about while I’m away you run it for me?”

Jess’ mouth dropped open so much he was surprised he didn’t feel his chin crack on the pavement.

“Me? Run your diner?” he checked, one hand over his chest in case Luke didn’t quite understand that by me he actually meant himself, Jess Mariano, the screw up nephew who had flouted every chance Luke had given him for way too long.

“That’s the idea,” he told him definitely. “I mean, Lorelai has offered to pitch in, Rory too, but they don’t know how everything works, and... well, they’re great but...”

“I get it,” Jess smiled, knowing exactly why his uncle was floundering.

The Gilmore girls were amazing people, Rory in particular as far as Jess was concerned, but he knew Lorelai always held the same qualities in Luke’s eyes. Of course when it came to running the diner, well, he remembered what happened the last time. Never short of enthusiasm, that was true, but Lorelai and Rory could get carried away, caught up in things, and were sometimes easily distracted too. Still, Jess was kind of stunned to be put in charge of everything.

“So, will you do it?” asked Luke, snapping Jess from an apparent momentary daze. “It shouldn’t be much more than two weeks, maybe three tops,” he assured his nephew. “You have the girls and Caesar, and if anything goes wrong I’m just a phone call away. Not that I expect something to go wrong, but...”

“I’ll do it,” said Jess suddenly, nodding his head. “I can handle it, Luke,” he promised. “I mean, hey, all the favours you’ve done for me, gotta pay you back somehow.”

Uncle and nephew shared a rare smile then. Luke had said before that Jess owed him nothing, but he appreciated the sentiment. He slapped him on the shoulder in thanks, even pulled him into a brief manly hug, then ruffled his hair as he had when the man was just a boy. He had grown up so much recently.

“Ah, geez!” Jess complained as he straightened out his hair. “Just go already!” he told his uncle, laughing even as he seemed to get annoyed.

Luke ducked inside to say goodbye to Rory and then Lorelai, the latter getting a pretty serious smooch that Jess saw through the window. He waved when Luke was finally in the truck and driving away and then turned to his own vehicle to retrieve some of his stuff. Walking into the diner to see Rory smiling at him from behind the counter where she was pouring coffee, knowing he was running this place for at least the next fourteen days, it was so weird, and yet Jess found he kind of liked the idea. Luke really had to trust him to allow him to do this, and that meant a lot.


	10. Chapter 10

“I need Adam and Eve on a raft, and give it wings!” called Lorelai over her shoulder into the kitchen.

“We’re all out of wings!” Caesar called back. “No, hold on, what does that mean again?”

Lorelai rolled her eyes and hurried out back to explain herself, whilst Rory continued to rush between tables with the coffee pot. It was the lunch time rush, three days now since Luke had left for Maine to go help out Liz and T.J. with their Renaissance Fayre booth. He had called once to speak to Jess and another time to check in with Lorelai. The main thing was that he was fine, and happy to hear his nephew was coping well with the diner thanks to help from the Gilmore girls.

This certainly wasn’t how Rory had intended to spend her Summer, but there was no way she was complaining about the way things had turned out. Completing her first year of Yale, Rory had expected a quiet period of three months spent with her mom and Sookie at the inn, with Lane and the band too, just hanging out, reading, relaxing. Now here she was, helping to keep Luke’s diner running, alongside her mother, and her boyfriend, Jess. It was the strangest mix of weird and wonderful having him back in her life after so long. Finally they both seemed to be in the same place at the same time, with the ability to be honest and open with each other. Rory was in love and she knew Jess felt the same. They had proven it in words and actions both, and he was here to stay with her this time, a decision made before Luke ever asked about keeping the diner running in his absence. Life might be busy, but Rory couldn’t say for a moment that it wasn’t also very good.

“Hey, honey? We gotta hustle!” said Lorelai as she caught her daughter just standing staring across the room, coffee pot in one hand, plate of congealing food in the other.

“Oh, sorry!” she shook her head and shifted into action.

Rory served the food and drink and then headed back to the counter just as Jess swung out from behind it with plates of his own to deliver to waiting customers. He was trying not to smirk because he had realised she was staring before Lorelai caught her. It was still a strange feeling being back here, especially working alongside the Gilmore girls instead of his uncle. He and Rory got caught up in the moment sometimes, staring across the counter at each other, kissing in the storeroom when nobody would miss them. It was like being infatuated teens again, except they were older now and in a much better place. This second try at their relationship was going to work out that much better than the first. Honestly, it couldn’t have turned out much worse, Jess thought.

The lunch rush was thankfully soon over. Lorelai pulled off her apron and hung it on its hook behind the counter before grabbing up her purse.

“Okay, I’m out,” she declared, stopping a second to kiss Rory on the forehead. “Off to the inn!”

“Don’t overdo it!” said Rory firmly as her mother went running to the door with a coffee to go in her hand.

“Thanks, Lorelai!” Jess called behind her, causing her to stop in an over-exaggerated stagger by the door.

She turned slowly with over-done wide eyes and slack jaw.

“Did he just...?” she asked Rory, shaking her head before the entire question was even asked. “Wow!” she declared then as she finally left.

Rory giggled and looked at her boyfriend as he rolled his eyes.

“Three days running,” he sighed. “I don’t know when she’s going to realise that joke is already dead.”

“Well, you will keep on thanking her for her help,” shrugged Rory. “It’s your own fault.”

“Excuse me for developing manners,” he countered, reaching an arm around her waist and pulling her close. “Speaking of, I should probably thank you for your help too,” he said with a look that suggested he wasn’t planning on using too many words for that.

“I can wait ‘til later,” she assured him. “When we’re alone, so you can be really, really grateful,” she whispered against his lips before kissing him soundly.

The bell jingled over the door and broke the couple apart a moment. Neither was ready for the sight that met their eyes when they looked over and realised it was another couple of their age who had just walked in. Lindsay seemed unaffected by the sight of Jess and Rory together behind the counter, but her husband was awkward at best.

“Hi,” said Lindsay with a smile. “Can we get two coffees, one of them decaff, a ham on rye, and a burger, all to go please.”

“Sure, coming right up,” said Rory when Jess seemed struck dumb by the sight of his old adversary.

The glaring between the two guys was not something Rory wanted to have to deal with right now. She owed Dean nothing, she had not been dating him this time around when she got together with Jess, in fact her first boyfriend was married to another woman. Rory’s love life should no longer concern Dean and yet she knew damn well that it did. He had tried to kiss her, not much more than a week ago now, and Jess had been the one to walk in and ensure it didn’t happen. Not that Rory had wanted it to, she had made that clear, but none of that was stopping the tension in the room right now.

“Jess?” Rory prompted when he didn’t move, putting herself in his eyeline. “You get the coffees, I’ll get the food from Caesar,” she told him definitely.

His eyes met hers and he smiled. Jess didn’t know why he was annoyed by Forester. After all, the loser had done what his title suggested - lost. He wasn’t with Rory, hadn’t been for a long time, and instead was married to another woman. It was Lindsay that needed sympathy and Jess who ought to feel pleased with himself. He shook off the old animosity towards Dean and made a big deal of planting a kiss on Rory’s lips.

“Sure,” he agreed to her suggestion and reluctantly moved to let her by to the kitchen.

Jess filled two to-go cups with coffee, one decaff as ordered, and put them into a tray. He rung up the coffee, burger, and sandwich, taking payment from Lindsay and handing her the change just as Rory reappeared with the food all wrapped up ready to go.

“Here you go,” she smiled at Lindsay who just about managed to return the expression.

Dean made a point of looking everywhere but at his ex, his wife, and Jess, until finally he could get out. The door closed behind him and Lindsay with a thud and Rory let out a breath she barely knew she had been holding.

“Thank you,” she told Jess who looked back at her with evident confusion. “For not saying anything, or worse punching him out,” she sighed.

Her right hand absently went to her left wrist, as if Jess needed a reminder of the scene he walked into at the Dragonfly nine days ago now. Dean should never have been laying hands on Rory, not in any way at all, but Jess knew there was no use starting a fist fight about it. Bringing up the topic at all would only have caused an unnecessary upset.

“I doubt Lindsay has any idea about it,” he shrugged. “That’s not my secret to tell, and besides, I hate it when girls cry.”

Rory stifled a smile at that. For all that Jess tried to be so tough sometimes, he had a real soft centre underneath it all. She hardly ever said that kind of thing to him, he didn’t appreciate it, but it was still true. On this occasion, she just moved to hug him and kiss his cheek.

“Did I mention how happy I am right now?” she asked him, smiling widely.

“You may have implied it,” he told her, returning the look. “And you’re not the only one,” he promised, pushing her hair off her face. “I never thought being back here would make me happy, but it does.”

“Good,” Rory nodded once. “Very good.”

* * *

“So, everything’s okay?” checked Lorelai, sitting herself down in the empty lounge area of the Dragonfly with the phone to her ear.

“Yeah, not bad,” Luke agreed “I mean, Liz and T.J. still aren’t getting around too well. Liz is all panicked that if they don’t finish out the season, they’re gonna lose their spot next to the apple doll booth, which is apparently the prime spot, so I said I’d help them out as long as they needed.”

“Very chivalrous,” Lorelai smiled, even though her heart ached. “Is it bad that I want to be selfish, and hope for my sake more than anybody else’s that their need for you isn’t too long? I have needs of my own, y’know?”

Luke wasn’t sure how to respond to that and didn’t need to since Lorelai realised herself just exactly what she had said.

“Yeah, that came out a little dirtier than I had in mind,” she giggled awkwardly. “Um, I just meant...”

“I know,” Luke assured her. “I miss you too,” he said sincerely.

Lorelai smiled, sure she was blushing even though she was rarely the kind to be embarrassed and seemingly far too old to feel so girlish.

“It was just the worst timing,” she sighed then. “I mean, doesn’t your sister realise how long in the making this relationship has been and just when we were getting started you had to leave?”

“I’ll be back before you know it,” he promised her. “And the very first Saturday after I am back, I’m taking you to dinner, no arguments.”

“You’re not going to get any arguments from me, mister,” Lorelai assured him. “Our first official date as a couple,” she smiled.

“And it’ll be worth the wait too, I promise.”

Lorelai wasn’t sure if he meant that quite the way it came out, but his tone of voice sent a shiver down her spine that she liked a whole lot. Realising she was not entirely alone in the inn lounge and that Luke would be far away for a good while yet, she shook her head free of a myriad of thoughts and tried to find a safer topic of conversation.

“Er, so the diner is fine,” she told him. “Not burnt down, closed down, or upside down, so I think it’s going well.”

“Sounds good,” Luke chuckled in her ear. “And Jess and Rory, they doing okay?”

“With the diner or with each other?”

“Both.”

“It’s all good. Jess is really doing a great job running the place. I am genuinely impressed,” she promised him. “As for him and Rory, they just... they seem so genuinely in love. It’s almost sickening, but in the best way. I want to trust him, Luke, and I know you and Rory already do so I should too, but it’s hard. He hurt my little girl.”

“I get that,” he nodded, and even though she couldn’t see him, she knew. “I was as mad as anybody when Jess ran out the way he did, but he is sorry, Lorelai. He’s grown up, he’s... I guess he’s changed. He’s the same in a lot of ways but just less selfish, less... moody teenager?”

“I know, I see that now,” she agreed. “We’re getting along, I swear. Given enough time, I might even like the guy,” she laughed lightly as Luke did the same.

“One step at a time,” he advised. “Well, I should really go, it’s always busy here and I’m guessing you are too.”

“Yeah, pretty busy,” she agreed, knowing she should be getting back to her work. “Still, rather be talking to you.”

“I know the feeling. I’ll see you soon, Lorelai.”

“I hope so. Bye, Luke.”

Lorelai hung up the phone and let out a long sigh. It was hard having him go away just when they were starting to get somewhere. Still, she had an inn to run, a diner to help out at, and a daughter to spend time with too. No time for sitting around moping, especially when there was very little to be sad about. Luke would be home in a week or two and everything would be good. Painting on a smile, Lorelai headed back to the front desk, glad to see more smiling customers all around. As tired as she was, as much as she missed Luke, she had to admit, life was pretty cool right about now.

* * *

Rory had taken a break from the diner in the afternoon. Jess insisted he could cope alone a while, and there was other wait staff rostered on for the evening. She had left him to his work, glad enough to get some spare time if she were honest. Still, Rory promised she would be back at closing time to help clean and tidy. Jess didn’t argue with her. As much as he could cope alone, he liked having her help, he liked just having her close as much as he could. That was why it came as a surprise to Rory when she got to the diner all of five minutes after closing to find the door locked, the lights on, but no Jess to be seen.

With a frown, Rory fished the spare key out of her purse and let herself in. She and her mom each had a copy made when Luke went away, for emergencies and back-up purposes. Right now, Rory considered this might well be some kind of emergency. She called for Jess and got no reply. She walked through to the kitchen and store room, checking both for signs of life, but nobody was there. Her heart pounded as she headed for the stairs to the apartment and ducked behind he curtain. Jess had to be up there, and maybe for some reason he hadn’t heard her call his name. He could have music on loud or the TV, it wouldn’t be the first time, but to leave the diner in the state it was and come upstairs seemed weird. At least she didn’t have to worry about burglars or anything since she had unlocked the door herself. Still, Rory was confused as she padded up the stairs to the apartment door.

Through the frosted glass Rory saw a figure pacing, a figure that she was certain was Jess. Reaching for the handle, she quietly opened the door to realise Jess now had his back to her, not even noticing her entrance as he talked animatedly on the phone.

“I know, sweetheart, but things are more complicated now.” he said, sounding pained. “Of course I wanna see you. I know what I promised, but... Look, I’ll see what I can do. It might be a couple of weeks but I’ll figure something out, I swear. You trust me, right? Okay, sweetheart. I’ll see you soon.”

Just as soon as Jess hung up the phone he turned around to find his girlfriend stood staring at him, shock etched on her features and tears in her eyes. 

“Rory...” he began, but she clearly didn’t want to listen as she shook her head and then bolted before he had a chance to explain.


	11. Chapter 11

“Rory!”

Jess gave chase the second he realised his girlfriend was on the move. He never had figured out when Rory learnt to run so fast but she was down the stairs and into the diner before he could reach her. Thankfully in all her upset and frantic need to get out, Rory lost control of her fingers, unable to work the latch on the diner door and escape until Jess caught up to her. The second the door opened even an inch, Jess’ slammed his hand on it over Rory’s head and closed it again.

“Stop it, let me go!” she complained, trying to wrench the door open again, but Jess wasn’t going to let her do that.

He shoved the bolt across and when Rory turned around to try and shove him away, he caught her arms and held her, desperate to get some explanation out before she managed to get away.

“Rory, stop, please! What you heard? It is not what you think!” he insisted loudly.

Rory wanted to believe that, she really did, but it didn’t exactly come easy. Just when she and Jess finally seemed to be back on track, when she thought they were definitely in a good place this go around. To hear him on the phone, talking cute to some other woman, it just hurt so much, she couldn’t breathe. She had to run, and yet Jess wasn’t letting her, and she couldn’t understand why unless he genuinely was innocent.

“Why, Jess?” she asked tearfully, leaning hopelessly back against the locked door. “Why, just when things are so good? Is it somebody in New York?” she asked him outright. “Did you just leave her like you left me before? No explanation, no break up, just gone?”

Now it was Jess’ turn to be hurt. He had thought she understood, that Rory accepted the fact he had grown up and changed enough to never be that guy again. It was like a knife in the heart to have her look at him that way and ask him those questions. She still thought he was capable of that kind of behaviour. At one time he would have deserved her lack of trust, but not now, not after everything.

“Thanks a lot, Rory,” he said bitterly. “I mean you’re really giving me the benefit of the doubt here, that means such a lot,” he dead-panned, stepping back away from her.

Suddenly he wished the door wasn’t bolted, and moreover that he hadn’t decided to give up his expensive smoking habit whilst in New York. A cigarette would certainly calm him down right now, as would punching the nearest wall but that didn’t seem overly constructive either.

“I’m sorry, but can you blame me?” said Rory, swallowing hard, wiping one hand across her face to remove the tears. “Jess, after everything... I walk in and hear you talking to another woman about trying to get away to see her. What am I supposed to think?” she asked, arms wrapped around her body holding herself.

Jess paced back and forth a little, running a hand through his hair. He laughed humourlessly at the whole crazy situation because it really was so very stupid. Eventfully he stopped right in front of Rory, looked her right in the eyes and told her the whole truth.

“The mystery person on the phone? You’re right about her being female, but she’s eleven years old,” he explained, watching Rory’s expression sift through five different emotions in as many seconds. “I guess in some weird family tree way she’s my step-sister or something.”

“Step-sister?” Rory shook her head, evidently confused, which Jess could at least understand.

“Jimmy’s step-daughter,” he clarified. “Look, when I went to California last Summer, I found Jimmy. He was living with this woman, Sasha, and her daughter, Lily. I don’t know, she... the kid got under my skin, okay? She was following me around, we hung out at the bookstore together. She’s kind of a literary nut. Hooked on phonics like somebody else I know,” he smiled slightly.

Rory didn’t flinch, even at the reference to their very first conversation that she still recalled to this day. Jess wasn’t cheating on her, that much she knew now. Still, the story he was telling seemed a little unreal. The only kids Rory ever saw Jess interact with were in the diner or that one time with Dean’s little sister, Clara. Neither time ended well, and Rory always thought Jess just didn’t like children. Maybe she was wrong.

“Your almost-step-sister,” she said slowly, frowning when she realised his family tree really was that complicated now.

“Kinda, yeah,” Jess nodded. “Lily is... she’s a loner, and I get that. Her life’s been a little screwed up, at least until Sasha and Jimmy got together. It’s weird that he’s the calming, stable influence in her life when in mine... well, he was pretty much just absent,” he explained. “By the end of the Summer, I had to get out of California. It wasn’t me, I didn’t belong. I headed back to New York, but Lily made me promise I would come visit. I figured that by now I might just be in a better place and could stick to a promise to go back there this Summer and see her, see... everybody.”

It was hard to know what to say to all of that. Rory had always known Jess didn’t really have family. Liz was a flake at best, Jimmy was just a name on a piece of paper until last Summer, and that was that. The only other relation he had and spoke of in anything like a reasonable way was Luke. Rory never expected this, to find that when Jess got to know his dad a little better he stumbled upon a whole family unit, a step-mother, a little step-sister. It felt so wrong that she hadn’t known, but then she and Jess had only started reconnecting a couple of weeks ago. There just hadn’t been an occasion when all this came up, until now, until she caught him making nice to what she thought was another woman, and then accused him. Rory felt awful.

“I’m so sorry, Jess,” she told him desperately. “I just... I heard you talking and...”

“And you thought the worst of me,” he finished for her, face so expressionless she really wasn't sure if he was still mad about that or just disappointed.

Rory wasn’t prepared for understanding.

“I get it,” he told her. “I was a jerk before, a Class A, twenty four carat jerk. Sure, I never cheated on you, but I ran out, more than once. How did you know I hadn’t done the same thing to some girl in New York?” he shrugged.

“I should’ve known better,” she berated herself, eyes to the floor. “You’ve changed, you... you wouldn’t do that, to another woman or to me. I do know that, Jess,” she promised, moving towards him, trying to meet his eyes when he looked everywhere but at her. “Jess, please...”

“This is not going to work if you don’t trust me,” he warned her, finally returning her gaze. “Rory, I know I’ve given you reasons to doubt me before, but I thought you understood that I’m not going anywhere this time, and I am not going to screw up. I love you.”

“I know that,” she assured him, her hand going to his face. “I love you too, you know I do. Jess, if I didn’t trust that this was for real, I never would’ve... we wouldn’t have...”

It was ridiculous that she couldn’t say it after several times of actually doing it. Sex wasn’t a big and complicated word, but all the feelings and emotions attached to it made it more awkward than anything else to speak of. It didn’t matter anyway, since he knew precisely what she meant, just like he always did. Turning his head, Jess kissed her palm and then took her hand in his own.

“I probably should’ve told you about Lily sooner,” he sighed. “Would’ve saved a lot of trouble”

“We did say we would try to communicate better,” she agreed, nodding her head. “But hey, one stumbling block later, we’ve both learned something. That’s a good thing.”

He smirked at her always finding the silver lining and then leaned in to kiss her lips. She moved further into his embrace, their arms wrapping around each other as they got lost in the moment, completely forgetting they were still in the diner, lights on, windows free for anyone to peer through. Rory remembered when she heard the honk of a car horn and was startled from a beautiful moment of passion.

“Hmm, not a good place for this,” she said breathlessly.

“Probably not,” Jess agreed, pulling on her hand as he walked backwards towards the stairs. “C’mon,” he urged her, when Rory seemed suddenly reluctant.

“But we have to clean up...” she said half-heartedly, looking around at the diner that really needed some attention.

She tripped forward with the momentum of Jess pulling on her hand, colliding with his chest as he started kissing her again. Rory’s head spun with the lack of oxygen and her knees started to buckle before they ever made the first step on the stairway.

“Still care about cleaning up?” asked Jess, a whisper against her lips as he finally let her breathe.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she sighed happily as they stumbled up the stairs together, never letting up on the kissing.

As far as first fights went in a new relationship, Rory couldn’t help but think this one had turned out pretty well.

* * *

Jess wasn’t sure what had woken him up. He thought there had been a noise but when he lay perfectly still and quiet listening for any further sound, he heard none. Shifting in the bed, it was disappointing to find he was alone. Rory had fallen asleep in his arms some hours before after they had made love right here in the room where he had so often dreamt of her in the past. Now she was gone, leaving Jess in a tangle of sheets and very little else. He sat up and then heard it again, the clatter of somebody down in the diner. He figured it had to be Rory, and yet couldn’t figure why she would be down there at two in the morning, at least that’s what his watch on the nightstand said.

Getting up, Jess threw on a pair of jeans, pushed his hair back off his face and went to investigate. He wasn’t quite ready for the sight that met his eyes. The floor had been mopped, all the chairs balanced up on the tables. Only one set of the lights was still on, the counter all cleaned down and tidy, and then she appeared. Rory stepped out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee between her hands, dressed in her own pants and sneakers but with one of Jess’ own button down shirts on top. To Jess, she never looked more beautiful.

“What are you doing?” he asked softly, mindful of startling her.

“Hey,” she smiled wandering over and kissing him hello. “I just woke up and started thinking what a mess everything was down here. I kinda couldn’t sleep until I cleaned up,” she smiled awkwardly.

Rory felt dumb having to admit it. Not being able to sleep soundly until the tidying up was done made her sound like a real obsessive compulsive freak, she was sure, but Jess didn’t seem to mind. The way he was looking at her right now made her shiver from head to foot, and yet there was a warm glow spreading through her insides. It was the very best feeling and she only ever got it from Jess.

“You are crazy, you know that, right?” he said tenderly, pulling her into his arms, coffee and all.

“Isn’t that why you love me?” she asked, smiling in the half light.

“It’s one of the reasons,” he agreed, smiling right back as he pushed her hair back behind her ear. “Come back to bed, I might tell you some more.”

“Mmm, sounds good,” she sighed, abandoning her coffee cup on the counter as she let him lead her back upstairs.

They were undressing again when she decided to bring up something she had been thinking hard about during all the cleaning downstairs. Sure, some of the time she had been caught up in reliving the wonder that was making love with Jess and having him back in her life as a permanent fixture, but she had also been thinking pretty seriously about their fight and what she learnt because of it. This led her to a question she really needed to ask, even if the answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

“Jess, when are you going back to California? To see Lily, I mean,” she clarified, even though it had to be pretty clear already.

“I don’t know,” he shrugged as he climbed into bed and pulled her in close beside him. “After Luke gets back from Maine, I guess,” he considered. “Why? Worried you’ll miss me when I’m gone?” he teased her playfully.

“Of course I’d miss you,” she agreed, curling her body against his, her head on his shoulder. “I was just thinking, well, maybe I wouldn’t have to miss you,” she considered, fingers making idle patterns on his chest. “I mean, if you wanted me to, I could come with you to California, but only if you wanted me to,” she repeated, tilting her chin up so she could watch his expression. “Would you want me to?”

Jess wasn’t the type to tell her yes if he meant no, Rory knew that much for sure. If he really wanted to go alone, he would say so, and Rory would try to understand. She would love to meet the mysterious man that had once been Liz’s husband and would always be Jess’ father, as well as Sasha and Lily too. However, if this was something Jess felt he needed or wanted to do alone, to keep as his only, she wouldn’t make him feel bad about that. Of course it seemed like forever before he actually looked down into her eyes and answered her question, and even then it wasn’t so much an answer as a request for further information.

“Why?” he asked curiously. “I mean, why would you want to meet them?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, even though they both knew that was a lie. “I just... well, Jimmy is your father, and Lily clearly means something to you if you’re willing to travel cross country to see her, so... I don’t know, it’s probably a silly idea,” she shook her head, looking away.

Jess put his hand to her face and made her meet his gaze again.

“If you want to come to California with me, Rory, then I would love for you to come,” he told her with a soft smile.

She smiled right on back, pleased that he didn’t want to fight her on this one.

“And they’ll be okay with it, right?” she double-checked. “I mean I wouldn’t want to upset Lily, have her think I’m taking her big brother away or something.”

“Are you kidding me?” he laughed at that. “With you around she gets a two for one, big brother and big sister,” he pointed out. “Besides, she already told me plenty of times that she wanted to meet you.”

Rory frowned slightly in obvious confusion.

“You told her about me?” she asked, knowing he must have done and yet finding it strange. “But we were broken up”

“Were we?” he checked. “I skipped town, which I admit was a pretty douche-bag thing to do, but I don’t remember any official break up.”

It was strange when Rory thought about it. They had that single one-sided phone conversation on her graduation day when she told Jess she was over it, but no, neither of them had actually said their relationship was officially broken up. In the intervening year, neither of them had seriously dated anyone else. It was an oddly romantic moment when Rory realised maybe she and Jess had been together this whole time, in their hearts at least, just waiting for everything else to catch up.

Pulling herself up so her head was on the pillow next to Jess’ own, Rory kissed him softly.

“You do know that if I see you within a mile of the bus station, I am going to set off some kind of alarm, alert the authorities, call the National Guard,” she warned him. “You’re not running out on me again, Mariano, it’s just not allowed, okay?”

He smiled at that, fingers playing with her hair as her answered her.

“If I ever try to leave you again, do me a favour and just shoot me, put me out of my misery, because clearly I will have lost my mind,” he told her, only half joking.

“Deal,” Rory nodded once, right before Jess kissed her.

Sleep seemed to have been forgotten entirely for tonight.


	12. Chapter 12

“Wow, sounds like Grandma is having a great time,” said Rory as she finished reading the postcard and handed it back to her mother across the counter.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Lorelai agreed as she sipped her coffee. “But see that’s the part that makes me suspicious. All these postcards, Paris, Rome, Athens, they all read the same way. ‘Isn’t life fabulous, darling!’” she said with a flick of her hand and an over done Ab Fab style voice. “I’m not buying.”

“Well, I guess it is rough on her,” Rory sympathised, pinning the postcard on the corkboard behind her. “The whole fight thing with Grandpa and then going on vacation by herself.”

“Hey, don’t you feel bad about that!” Lorelai warned her, pointing a finger at her baby girl. “You had your reasons to stay. For one thing, you deserve to get to spend some time in your home town, with your mother who missed you and your new/old boyfriend,” she smiled at her own wording as Rory did the same. “Besides, you’re doing Luke a huge favour by helping out with the diner. I so wanna help more, but with the inn and everything...”

“You just got it off the ground, Mom, of course you have to be there most of the time,” her daughter assured her she understood. “We can deal. Jess is just excellent at handling things,” she smiled, perhaps a little too much.

“Dirty!” her mother exclaimed, making Rory blush furiously at her own inadvertent double-entendre.

“Do I even wanna know?” asked Jess as he appeared from the kitchen, looking suspisciously between the Gilmore girls.

“Probably not,” Lorelai shook her head. “But anyway, I should really be getting back,” she declared, downing the last of her coffee.

She hopped off her stool and threw a few extra bucks on the counter before a thought seemed to hit her.

“Oh, by the way, I know we’re not obliged to attend Friday Night Dinners while Grandma is away, but I was thinking maybe you’d want to go visit with your Grandpa sometime soon?” she asked Rory then.

“Yeah, it would be great to see Grandpa, but I...” she faltered looking back at Jess. “Well, don’t you need me here on a Friday night?”

“As invaluable as your help is, Ror, and as much as I obviously love having you around, you should go see your grandfather if you want to,” he smiled.

Lorelai looked a little surprised. Honestly, Jess wasn’t sure whether to be offended by her expression or not.

“What? I’m the big bad wolf that wants to keep my girlfriend chained to the stove? Or the counter, actually, you Gilmores don’t kid about not being able to cook,” he considered.

“Really not kidding,” Rory agreed.

“Nope, not a joke,” Lorelai shook her head. “So, I’ll call Richard, see if and when he wants us to go over there?”

“Sounds good.”

“Okay, I’ll catch you guys later.”

Rory waved as her mother left and then turned around to Jess who was leant back against the wall.

“You look tired,” she told him.

“Thanks, that makes me feel really good about myself,” he dead-panned.

Rory rolled her eyes and went easily into his arms.

“I wasn’t being mean, just honest,” she told him, though he ought to have already known. “I know Luke left you in charge of this place, and you’re doing a great job, but he wouldn’t want you to run yourself into the ground.”

“I’m fine,” he promised her, touched by her concern at least. “I’m just not so used to the early starts and I don’t always sleep so well here. You grow up in New York, a city that never sleeps, you get used to the noise, y’know?”

“Stars Hollow is pretty quiet,” said Rory thoughtfully. “But you didn’t not sleep when you lived here before. How did you deal then?”

“Loud music to fall asleep to,” he told her. “It drove Luke crazy, but without it... I don’t know, as nuts as it sounds, the silence wakes me up.”

Rory tried not to laugh, even though that did sound pretty strange. She certainly wasn’t laughing when a thought hit her about why Jess hadn’t been able to sleep lately.

“Oh,” she said suddenly. “It’s my fault. I’ve been staying over, and you don’t put on your music cause of me, so you don’t sleep.”

“It’s not you,” he promised, when she started to look upset. “I swear, Rory, I sleep when you’re here. Mostly because you tire me out,” he whispered in her ear, mindful of the fact there were customers around that might be listening in.

“Jess!” she exclaimed, batting him across the chest.

“You wanna deny it?” he checked with a look that made her laugh.

“No,” she squirmed, feeling self-conscious. “But you do need your sleep, and you need to stress less about this place. Y’know when I came in the other day you were in the store room cursing at boxes for not being in the right place. I actually thought Luke had got back early for a minute there.”

Jess was about to argue and say she was making that up, before realising quite suddenly that he really had done that. As much as he liked the idea of turning out to be as decent as his uncle, there was no way Jess wanted to be a Luke clone. That would be too scary.

“Okay,” he said eventually, tucking Rory’s hear behind her ear as he looked at her seriously. “I promise to let Caesar hold the reins some times, take a step back, de-stress,” he told her definitely. “But please, if you ever catch me putting a baseball cap on my head, either way around, please stop me.”

“I promise,” Rory giggled, planting a kiss on his lips. “But right now I have to go. I told Lane we would have a girls afternoon today.”

“Have fun,” Jess told her, kissing her back and then finally releasing her from his arms.

He watched her go out of the door and let out a sigh. It was cute that she worried about him, Jess had to admit. It was a new feeling to have people that cared that much. He never had gotten used to it the last time he lived in the Hollow, but these days he was adjusting. Jess Mariano had the love of a good woman, and of at least one member of his family in the form of his uncle. Luke had handed over his diner, which was pretty much his most prized position, and asked Jess to run it. That was a hell of a lot of trust to put in a person, and as much as he refused to make a big deal out of it, Jess was kind of proud to know he was seen as just that reliable in Luke’s eyes. On his part, Jess was also starting to understand why Luke was usually pretty short-tempered. Surviving on less sleep than a person should, juggling the store room, keeping the accounts in order, it was a lot of work for one person, even if it was just a small diner he was running. Jess didn’t think he could respect Luke any more than he alre  
ady did, but apparently this experience was proving him wrong.

Of course, the stress of the diner and sleeping without the stereo on were not the only reasons he looked tired. Jess wasn’t quite ready to tell Rory the rest yet. In time he would, but now there wasn’t enough to tell anyway. Maybe in a couple of weeks.

* * *

“So, Jess is taking you to California? That’s kind of a big deal, right?” said Lane, shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth as if she were engrossed in a movie more than a conversation with her best friend.

“I don’t know, I guess,” Rory shrugged. “Meeting the family can be big, I suppose, but I already met his mom and I probably know Luke even better than he does,” she considered. “Jimmy is... He’s a sore point with Jess, or he always was. He was just this name without a face for eighteen years and then once Jess actually met him and got to know him, I didn’t see him to know what really happened. I’m still kinda vague. All I really know is Jess spent last Summer with Jimmy and his new family, and then he came back east to New York,” she shrugged, painting her last nail with polish and recapping the bottle. “He didn’t say what happened, how much he and Jimmy bonded, or not. Mostly he just talks about Lilly.”

“The step-sister?” Lane double-checked, at which Rory nodded. “Well, it’s sweet that he doesn’t wanna let the kid down, that he’s taking the whole big brother thing pretty seriously.”

“I know,” said Rory with a wide smile. “I think it’s beautiful, and not just because he’s being nice to a lonely kid but because... well, I think it’s good for Jess too, to have somebody rely on him, make him feel wanted. He hasn’t had a lot of that in his life from what he’s said. His mom was so... she just didn’t really want him around, and I know, I know he was probably a handful, given how he was when he first came here and all, but she’s his mother, y’know?”

“Yeah, that’s gotta be rough.”

“Exactly. When he came here, Luke actually wanted him around, and I did too, but everybody else was so down on him, just acting like he was this criminal or something. Now he has Lilly looking up to him, thinking he’s the best guy in the world.”

“Which you agree with.”

“I do. I just think Jess and Lilly are what each other needs. She gets somebody to look up to, and he gets a person to take care of, even if it’s in a small way from across the country.”

Lane smiled because Rory was smiling, all dreamy-eyed and so very happy. It was nice to see. Lane never doubted that Rory thought the world of Jess and loved him for a very long time. She also had no qualms in admitting her belief that he always loved Rory too. Neither of them treated the other well at one time or another, but finally they seemed to be in the same place at the same time, and things were working out very well. Lane would be one-hundred percent ecstatic for her best friend, if only a little corner of her heart weren’t green with envy.

“One day, I want to find my Jess,” she sighed heavily. “Not that I want a guy exactly like Jess, because y’know, me and you have a lot in common but our taste in guys has always been kind of opposite,” she explained to Rory. “But I want a guy!” she whined.

Rory felt bad for her.

“Aaaw, it’ll happen, Lane,” she promised, hugging her briefly.

“I thought it already had,” she complained. “Dave was perfect for me. My mother even liked him, and now... I don’t know, it just feels like I lost my only chance.”

“Lane, he wasn’t your only chance,” Rory insisted. “I mean, look at me. I was with Dean for two years, I thought he was the one for me, and then Jess came along. When he left, it hurt so much, I thought that was it for me, done with guys, nobody was ever going to be right for me, but look at me now,” she smiled widely. “Jess is back and we love each other and it’s working this time.”

“You think Dave will come back to me?” asked Lane hopefully, and Rory’s smile faded.

“I didn’t mean that exactly,” she admitted awkwardly. “I just... well, your first love isn’t necessarily the one you end up with, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ever be happy again. My mom didn’t stay with my dad, but look how things are working out with her and Luke.”

“That is true,” Lane considered. “How is Luke anyway? Is he coming home soon?”

“Not sure. Mom talked to him a couple of days ago and Liz’s arm was almost healed, plus T.J’s leg turned out not to be broken, just sprained so he should literally be back on his feet pretty soon. After that, we’re hoping Luke will come home.”

“And then you and Jess can get a little more free time,” said Lane with a wink.

“That would be nice, although we haven’t exactly been lacking in time alone together as it is” she admitted. “I might’ve spent a few nights in the diner apartment.”

Lane’s eyes widened a little as she giggled like a kid. So she didn’t have a boyfriend of her own, that didn’t mean she couldn’t live vicariously through her friend for a while at least.


	13. Chapter 13

“Tell me again how I ended up here?”

Jess was stood between Rory and Lorelai on the doorstep of the Gilmore mansion, wearing his best clothes and trying to keep his hair back off his face. Friday Night Dinner was a place he had only strayed to once before, and it had not ended well. To be fair that night he had faced the inimitable Emily Gilmore with a black eye and not exactly his best manners. This night could not be as bad as that one, Jess thought, at least he hoped it couldn’t.

“You’re here because you need a night off,” Rory told him, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “And because you love me.”

“Really? Is that why?” he checked, watching as Lorelai rang the doorbell. “And here I was thinking it was because you were all naked and articulate when you asked me.”

“Eeew!” said Lorelai, covering her ears, clearing scandalised by hearing such things about her baby girl.

“Sorry,” said Jess quickly, right before the door was opened.

A maid bobbed in greeting and started taking coats. Lorelai smiled politely, feeling just a little weird about being here when her mother wasn’t. As much as it was a relief not to have to face Emily Gilmore for once, technically speaking her father shouldn’t be in the house. He had moved into the poolhouse after the epic Gilmore break up and was only now back in on a sneaky temporary basis whilst Emily toured Europe. Lorelai dreaded to think how her mother would react when she noticed the smell of cigar smoke and a distinct lack of spirits in the drinks cabinet on her return, but at least Lorelai wouldn’t be here to witness the heinousness.

“Hello all,” Richard smiled as he appeared from the living room, surprisingly smiley for a man parted from his wife.

“Hey,” Lorelai smiled right back, accepting an unexpected hug and noting a whiff of booze as she did so. “You start the party early there, Dad?”

“I may have had a small scotch before you arrived,” he admitted, “but I am a grown man in my own home, Lorelai, I think that’s reasonable enough behaviour.”

Jess tried not to smirk. Honestly, he liked this guy already. Richard never seemed so stuffy as Emily in all the stories that Rory and Lorelai told. Plus he apparently had a taste for good literature, and the sense not to want to spend as much time with his wife as he used to. Of course, Jess was going to keep all his opinions on these topics to himself, and for the most part only speak when he was spoken to. It seemed safer for everyone concerned somehow.

“Grandpa, I’d like you to meet Jess Mariano,” said Rory with a smile.

“Sir,” Jess nodded politely, taking the hand that was offered and shaking it.

“A pleasure to meet you, young man,” said Richard, casting an eye over him. “You know my wife has some ghastly opinions of you, all of which I’m sure were formed on a basis of practically nothing,” he said with some apparent amusement. “If our Rory sees fit to associate with you, then I’m sure you have many good qualities.”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far,” said Jess awkwardly. “But I appreciate the lack of pre-judgement.”

Lorelai smiled at the odd meeting of her father and Jess. Now that she thought on it, they had a few things in common, the literature angle and a powerful love and affection for Rory, to name but two. Without Emily’s acid tongue in the mix, there was certainly potential for this evening going reasonable well. 

“Now, what is everybody having to drink?” asked Richard as they moved through to the living room.

Jess felt Rory’s fingers entwine with his own as they went, and let out a breath he hardly knew he’d been holding. So far, so good, he thought, but the night was young yet.

* * *

“You seem to have excellent taste in literature, Jess,” said Richard Gilmore, clinking his glass against Jess’ own.

“Thank you, sir,” he smiled politely. “From what Rory tells me, you have quite the library yourself.”

“That is true, though there are rather a lot of volumes missing, I’m afraid. I have quite neglected my reading of late,” he sighed, replacing his drink on the table and focusing on his dinner for all of a minute. “Tell me, Jess, what is it you’re reading at the moment?”

Rory bit her lip and tried not to giggle. She knew precisely the book Jess had on his night-stand because she had been flipping through it just this morning whilst he made them breakfast. It was not something that Richard Gilmore would ever have heard of and certainly wouldn’t be interested in. It would be the easiest thing in the world for Jess to lie, of course, but what made her mouth drop wide open was the fact he simply didn’t bother.

“Actually, I’m in the middle of a biography right now,” he admitted, after swallowing a mouthful of potatoes. “It’s called ‘I Slept With Joey Ramone’.”

He timed it perfectly as Lorelai choked spectacularly on her wine, making quite the fool of herself. Rory kicked Jess under the table, or at least tried to. Somehow he seemed to know it was coming and moved his feet further back under his chair where she couldn’t get to him. Richard reprimanded Lorelai for making such an unladylike sound and then turned his attention back to Jess.

“I am rather surprised, Jess, that you would be reading what cannot be an accurate depiction of a man’s life by a woman who would be so crass as to title book in such a way,” he shook his head.

“Actually, the book isn’t by a woman, it’s by Joey’s brother,” he explained easily. “In this instance the sleeping with is literal rather than suggestive.”

“Ah, I see,” Richard smiled then. “You know, that’s actually very clever. Grab an audience with a racy title and then reveal a true family story. Excellent,” he said, mostly to himself, as he put another piece of beef into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

Jess smirked annoyingly, first at Rory and then Lorelai. Honestly, they were both impressed in their own ways, and actually pleased to see Richard and Jess getting along. It sure did make life easier.

“Ramone,” said Richard suddenly. “I seem to remember a poster that you had, Lorelai,” he said, looking down the table to get her attention. “Weren’t they the boys in the leather jackets and demin with unwashed hair?”

“Definitely sounds like them,” she nodded. “I’m not sure you’d like the music, Dad. They weren’t exactly your type, no extracts from Mozart or Beethoven, no Chuck Berry covers.”

“Ah, Chuck Berry,” her father sighed. “Now he was a true artist.”

“I really agree,” Jess nodded, at which Rory tried not to giggle. “Y’know Ted Nugent said ‘If you don’t know every Chuck Berry lick, you can’t play rock guitar’. The guy changed the face of popular music.”

“Indeed,” Richard nodded once.

The maid suddenly appeared then, apologising profusely for the interruption but letting Mr Gilmore know there was an urgent business call for him. He excused himself from the table, and Lorelai’s cutlery made a clattering sound as she dumped it unceremoniously onto her plate.

“Okay, what the hell?!” she asked Jess too loudly, before remembering herself and lowering her voice. “Seriously, Jess, you’ve just been talking to my father about the Ramones! That is... I can’t even process that!”

“It’s amazing,” said Rory, staring across at her boyfriend. “I mean, I really wanted you to meet Grandpa, I figured you’d talk books a little bit and that would be it, but you’re like...”

“A robot,” Lorelai cut in. “He’s like the perfect robot boyfriend version of Jess. Ooh, he’s the Jess-bot!” she cried with too much glee.

“Stop!” said Jess in something akin to a warning tone.

Sure, he kind of liked that he was making a good impression on Richard Gilmore. After all, this guy meant a lot to Rory, and Jess felt like he really should make up for the day he met Emily - man, was that ever a screwed up occasion! Still, he was not going to live the rest of his life being referred to as the frickin’ Jess-bot!

“Well, at least we know how Luke should be behave when he meets Grandpa,” said Rory thoughtfully, looking to her mother. “I mean, if Jess can impress him with The Ramones, I’m sure Luke can dazzle him with the diner, baseball cards, and Jethro Tull,” she smiled too much.

“Yeah, well, right now your grandpa doesn’t even know I’m dating anybody so...”

“You’re dating somebody?” said Richard himself as he returned to the table.

Lorelai seriously considered slamming her head into the table. At least then she would be unconscious and not have to have this conversation. With a sigh, she gave in and said what had to be said.

“Yes, Dad” she told him with a fake smile. “Actually, Luke and I have just started seeing each other in a dating kind of way. You remember Luke?”

“Of course I remember, Luke, Lorelai,” he rolled his eyes. “I’m not senile yet, you know?”

“Nobody thinks you’re senile, Grandpa,” Rory assured him. “I told you that Luke is Jess’ uncle, didn’t I?”

“Yes, I believe that you did,” he agreed. “But then I am a little confused why you didn’t bring him to dinner also?”

“Oh, he’s away right now,” explained Lorelai. “Helping out some other family members,” she said, deliberately vague as to whom.

Jess didn’t exactly thank her for the effort, but the look on his face said it all as they glanced at each other.

“Yes, and while Luke is gone, Jess is running the diner,” Rory threw in.

“Really?” Richard smiled, clearly even more impressed by his granddaughter’s suitor. “How very enterprising.”

* * *

“That went so well,” Rory enthused as they all headed home in the Jeep. “Seriously, I wasn’t sure how Grandpa would be without Grandma, or how well he would treat you,” she said to Jess. “But it went really well.”

“Certainly better than I thought,” her boyfriend agreed with a smile, squeezing her hand in his own.

“Right there with ya,” Lorelai agreed, looking back at the couple in her rear-view. “But hey, if I’d known we were bringing the Jess-bot I wouldn’t have worried,” she smirked annoyingly.

Jess rubbed his forehead with his free hand, as if he felt a headache coming on.

“Seriously? That one’s going to stick?” he checked. “You couldn’t pick something less annoying?”

“Oh, Jess, you should’ve heard some of the names I had for you last time you dated my daughter,” said Lorelai sweetly, in spite of the fact they both knew how awful her opinion of him had been back then.

“Jess-bot is fine,” he conceded in a muttered tone.

Rory leaned over and put her head on his shoulder, trying not to laugh. It was cool that her mother and her boyfriend got along now. She remembered some of the things Lorelai had said about Jess before too, and they were not good. He had made some remarks about her mother as well, though he had been pretty careful not to say anything too bad and upset Rory. It was much better now they were friendly, and the fact Grandpa liked Jess too was just the icing on the cake for Rory. She really loved it when all the important people in her life were happy and civil.

Arriving at the Crap Shack, Lorelai pulled the car on the drive and shut off the engine. Rory and Jess disembarked and wasted no time in getting down to some serious goodbye kissing against the side of the car. Lorelai kept her back to them on purpose and even thought about heading inside, but a single glance back changed her mind. They were so cute. Lorelai never thought for a second that she would think that about her daughter and Jess of all people. She had those kind of random thoughts about Rory and Dean once upon a time, but Jess had always made her nervous. Not so much now. It was so obvious he had grown up fast this past year and he looked at Rory with such love, kissed her with such reverence, held her like he never wanted to let go. They were committed now, any fool could see it. Rory had even told Lorelai that Jess planned to head to California to visit with his dad and step-family and take Rory with him. Lorelai was impressed, and just a little jealous that her own man was far away yet.

“Hey, Siamese Twins!” she called to the teens, who parted fast. “Hey, you’re not actually attached at the lips, who know?” she teased, even as Rory blushed. “But seriously folks, why don’t you go back to the diner together? All that goodbye kissing just proves you don’t want to do the goodbye thing at all, so don’t.”

“Really?” said Rory, looking awkward.

It wasn’t as if Lorelai wasn’t aware her daughter was sleeping with Jess. Still, it was kind of weird having her pretty much tell them to go have sex. Not that a young couple in love were ever going to argue with such a thing. Rory ran over to her mother, gave her a quick hug, and was soon walking away hand-in-hand with Jess. Lorelai let out a long sigh before taking herself into the house.

She dumped her jacket and purse, thinking whether she wanted to put on the TV for a while or just give in and go to bed since she was home alone. The light flashing on the answering machine gave her a third option and she rushed over, hoping to hear the voice of the very man she had been missing. Lorelai realised she was in luck, and grinned wide when Luke spoke through the machine.

“Hey, it’s me. I know, I’m an idiot calling on a Friday night when you always have dinner at your parents place, but things kind of conspired against me today and the first chance I’m getting to call is now. Anyway, I’m just hoping that you don’t have plans for tomorrow night. I’m coming home, Lorelai. Tomorrow night, you and me are going on that date I promised you. I’ll see you soon.”

Lorelai didn’t think she could be any happier than when she realised Luke left her a message. Now she knew he was coming home and their first official date was booked, she wished she was still young and agile enough to do cartwheels. As it was, she settled for jumping up and down in place with the biggest grin on her face. Tonight had started out well, and then it only got better


	14. Chapter 14

Jess wasn’t really sure why he was nervous. Luke had left him in charge of the diner because he trusted him, and that was a big deal, but Jess knew he hadn’t screwed up these past three weeks, so he had nothing to fear. Every day the diner had been opened on time, locked up safe at night. The stock room was in order, the books balanced, and he and Rory had done a last minute deep clean last night instead of the more pleasurable activities they had originally been planning. Everything was as close to perfect as it could be, and still Jess felt like he was shaking with nerves. From the outside, of course, he looked fine, cool and nonchalant as ever, at least he thought he did. Rory clearly knew him too well at this point.

“Jess, stop worrying,” she urged him, reaching for his hand on the counter. “Luke is going to be so proud of you. You've done an amazing job of keeping this place going while he’s been away.”

“I know,” he said softly, squeezing her hand. “And you helped a lot. I don’t just mean serving down here either, I mean keeping me sane when I thought I was losing it.”

“All part of the girlfriend job description,” she assured him with a smile and a kiss on his lips.

They were in great danger of getting lost in the moment when the sound of the bell over the door pulled them apart and a familiar voice was heard.

“Really? This is what you two have been doing the whole time I was gone?”

“Luke!” Rory grinned as she spun around and rushed at him. “It’s so great to have you back.”

“Oh, it’s good to be back,” he assured her as he hugged her briefly. “You been keeping my nephew out of trouble?”

“More like getting me into trouble,” said Jess with a smirk as Luke and Rory walked over to the counter. “Y’know she started that kiss you just saw. I was an innocent bystander, and she just...”

“Shut up, smart ass,” his uncle told him, with a good-natured smile. “Looks like you kept my diner in decent shape.”

“It’s still here,” Jess shrugged. “I don’t know why you make such a big deal, it’s not so hard to run this place.”

He said it like he meant it, but the smirk breaking through proved he was kidding. Luke knew that already. Lorelai had kept him up to date with how hard his nephew had been working, how stressed he had seemed at times, and yet Jess had coped. Luke couldn’t be more proud of the kid that was fast becoming a very decent young man.

“Er, is Liz...?” asked Jess vaguely, barely looking at Luke.

“She’s good, better,” his uncle told him, the pair of them just about as awkward as each other. “Sends her love and all that.”

“Okay,” Jess nodded.

Rory felt the tension building and immediately cut in.

“Jess really has worked hard to keep the place going, and he’s done such a great job,” she enthused. “I mean, Mom and me, we helped when we could, but Jess has been all large and in charge. Even Mom was impressed.”

“So I heard,” said Luke with a winning smile. “I mean, I’ll have to check my stock room, the accounts and everything, but from what I can see and what I’ve been told, you did good, nephew,” he said, with a hand on Jess’ shoulder.

“Like I said, it’s not that hard,” he lied, and they all knew it, but that was okay.

If there was one thing Jess struggled with more than Luke being mad at him, it was Luke praising him. He wasn’t used to people being grateful or kind to him, which was incredibly sad, but at least Luke understood it, and he didn’t press the point.

“Okay, well, I’m gonna take my stuff upstairs, shower a very long road trip off me, and then we’ll catch up before my date tonight,” he said, gathering up his bags and heading for the curtain behind the counter.

“Mom is really excited,” said Rory, smiling widely. “She’s been figuring out her outfit and pretty much bouncing around the house all day.”

Luke just smiled at that and continued walking, soon disappearing up the stairs to the apartment. Jess waited until he was definitely out of ear-shot before leaning over the counter to speak softly to Rory.

“You wanna stay here again tonight?” he checked.

“Seriously?” she frowned. “With Luke up there?”

“You really think he’s going to be sleeping in his own bed tonight?” Jess asked, eyebrow raised and expression showing genuine surprise if Rory did believe that.

The look on her face was a picture when she caught up with what he meant.

“Jess! What kind of woman do you think my mother is?” she asked, slapping him across the arm.

“I think she’s the woman that has been pining for Luke just as long as he has been pining for her!” her boyfriend told her definitely, rubbing the spot near his shoulder when she had slapped him. “I think that just when they got it together, they were torn apart again. I think as Romeo and Juliet as things have been with those two, tonight is not going to be a night they wanna spend apart.”

Rory considered everything he said and her frown first deepened and then disappeared. She supposed Jess really did have a point. Her mom was an adult, and so was Luke. Their dating had been a very long time coming, and they had been apart three weeks after finally beginning to get close. It did seem highly likely they would be getting closer than ever tonight, it was just a little odd to think about.

“They’re not all that much like Romeo and Juliet,” she said eventually. “I mean, nobody died, thank goodness, and my family and your family don’t hate each other.”

“I was thinking specifically of the star-crossed part,” her boyfriend clarified. “Now, you should probably go check on Lorelai, make sure she hasn’t drowned in her closet or something,” he advised.

“Good thinking, Batman,” Rory agreed, planting a quick kiss on his lips before she left.

Jess watched her go, then glanced towards the stairs where Luke had gone. Jess had been back here a little over a month now, being with Rory, running the diner, and already it was as if he had never really been away. The longer he was in Stars Hollow, the more it felt like home. Jess couldn’t decide if that was good or bad in the long run. For now he chose not to worry about it.

* * *

A knock on the door made Lorelai physically jump, even though she had done nothing but check the clock and anticipate the arrival of her date for the past hour. She leapt up from the couch, straightening her dress and fluffing her hair. Rory grinned.

“You look great, Mom, you really do,” she promised her.

“Thanks, kid. I just hope Luke thinks so,” Lorelai sighed as she turned towards the door. “You don’t think he’ll have stopped wanting me while he’s been away, do you?”

“Not a chance,” her daughter promised. “Now go, don’t leave him hanging on the porch!”

Lorelai giggled like a teen as she grabbed up her purse, kissed Rory’s cheek, and headed to the door to meet her man. Rory hung back, sneaking a look as two of her favourite people in the world saw each other again and embraced with a tight hug and a long lingering kiss that was almost embarrassing to watch. Rory was glad to see it really. Luke was such a good guy, and her mom had waited long enough to be in such a good relationship. If they could make it work, Rory couldn’t think of anything more perfect, except perhaps her own rekindled romance with Jess.

The moment Lorelai and Luke left for their date, hand in hand no less, Rory noted from the window, she moved to grab her book and settle in on the couch to read. Jess would be working until late, but that was fine. If he needed her, he would call and she would go over and help. If not, she was happy to stay here and enjoy the quiet a while, ensuring she was gone before her mom and Luke were likely to be home. She told Lorelai to drop her a text, if necessary, and though her mom had looked a little scandalised at the suggestion to begin with, she had soon started grinning and thanked her daughter for her foresight. Rory daren’t tell her it was Jess’ idea that she stay over the diner tonight, so that the newly reunited couple could have the house. 

Rory’s cell buzzed on the coffee table and she reached to see who had sent her a message. She smiled on seeing her boyfriend’s name. Jess was just checking that Luke and Lorelai had gone off on their date without incident. Rory replied and let him know it was quite the touching reunion, and then promised she would be over before closing to see him, unless he needed her help sooner. Jess told her to take some time to herself, she had earnt it, but that he was looking forward to seeing her later. Rory grinned all the wider as she told him she was looking forward to it too, and then settled down to read the last few chapters of her book.

* * *

Rory couldn’t believe it when she opened her eyes and found it was so late. Her phone buzzing in her lap had woken her, and two texts from her mom told her she and Luke would be home before long. A third from Jess asked when she was coming over, because it was closing time already and she had yet to arrive. A quick reply to Lorelai confirmed Rory was out of the house and she scrambled not to let that be a lie within a minute. Hurrying to the diner, she text Jess on the way, apologising that she was late. It was kind of pointless since she was at the diner door before she had hardly pressed send. Through the glass, Jess appeared, unlatching the door to let her in and locking up again all one-handed, the other occupied by his cell as he talked animatedly to whoever was on the other end of the line.

“I know what I promised, Lil,” he said, rolling his eyes as Rory smiled.

Of all the good things that came from Luke being home, one she was most happy about was knowing she and Jess could now plan their trip to California to see Lilly, as well as Jimmy and Sasha. Clearly Jess’ step-sister was equally as excited, perhaps even more so.

“Yes, now Luke is home, we can make plans for the trip,” he was promising her. “Yes, Rory still wants to come, if that’s okay with you. Well, she’s here right now, why don’t you ask her yourself?” he said suddenly, startling Rory.

She recovered well, taking the phone when Jess offered it to her. Rory cleared her throat and then spoke.

“Hi Lilly, this is Rory,” she said pointlessly, since it ought to have been clear enough.

Jess watched with a smile as his girlfriend fell into happy conversation with Lilly about books and visiting California, all kinds of things. He never saw this day happening when he first went to stay with Jimmy and his new family. Lilly was an odd kid in a closet when he met her, it never had occurred to Jess she would want to know him or that he would have any interest in getting to know an oddball ten year old with serious issues. He certainly never saw a day when he and Rory would be in such a good place that they were not only back together again, but planning a trip across country as a couple.

“Well, I don’t know exactly,” said Rory then. “Jess and me, we need to look into cheap flights and... well, he probably has to talk to Jimmy and Sasha, we can’t just show up on the doorstep unannounced,” she said awkwardly, looking to her boyfriend.

He gestured for Rory to hand the phone back.

“Hey, munchkin. I put you on with Rory to talk books, not to bug her about flight plans,” he told her mock-sternly. “I need to talk to your mom in the morning, and then we’ll look at when we can get cheap tickets. It’ll be soon, sweetheart, I promise.”

The call ended soon after, with Jess sounding awfully fatherly as he told Lilly it must be way past her bedtime. Rory tried not to giggle as she sat down at a table and waited for him to be done.

“I’m sorry about her,” Jess apologised, but Rory shook her head.

“It’s fine. I like that she’s so excited to see you, and me actually. Kind of flattering,” she smiled. “But honestly, the weirdest part is the way you talk to her. What happened to that rebellious youth that I met almost three years ago?” she asked, her tone teasing as her hand covered his on the table.

“I guess he started to grow up,” Jess told her. “You okay with that?”

“I think so,” she agreed with a smile, watching their fingers intertwine. “So long as you’re not going to get old and boring too fast. I’d like to think the wild side of Jess Mariano still exists in there somewhere.”

“If anybody can find him, I’m pretty sure it’s you,” he told her, leaning in to kiss her soundly on the lips.

Tonight they had the chance to be alone together, and tomorrow they could start making serious plans for California. It was weird how much Jess was actually looking forward to going back to Venice Beach, more now than before because Rory was coming along with. It would be good to see Lilly, Sasha, even Jimmy, and better still to be able to make introductions between each of them and Rory. 

“So, this trip to California,” she said, pulling out his arms a moment. “I figure we’re going to be on the beach a lot, I’m going to need to be dressed appropriately.”

“I don’t think they have a dress code or anything,” Jess told her, eager to get back to kissing her while he had the chance, before Rory remembered they had to clean up the diner before they got to the interesting part of the evening.

“I know, but I kinda got this new bikini for the occasion...” she said, one hand slipping into her purse and pulling out the skimpy outfit she spoke of. “I thought maybe you could give me your opinion on whether it suits me?” she asked, with a look he had never seen on her face outside of his bed before now.

“I can do that,” he promised before moving in to kiss her again.

Maybe the clean up would wait an hour or so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is now going on hold til 2015. I do this every year as I have a lot of other stuff to do in December, including a lot of fics to write for exchanges and as gifts for friends. Please rest assured, I will be back in the new year! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got back to this story, and I think I remember where we were going... Florida, right? Oh, no, that’s right - California! ;)

“I can’t believe I’m going to California,” said Rory with a grin as she packed clothes and other essentials into her suitcase. “I mean, I keep thinking about all the plans we had for Summer vacation, and none of what we’ve done so far was on the list.”

The smile slid off her lips when she glanced at Lorelai then, her own words catching up to her. She and her mom had so many plans, good plans, and none of them had happened yet. Some of that was really nobody’s fault. Luke going away like he had, leaving the girls to help Jess run the diner. Still, it was Rory’s own choice to spend so much time with her boyfriend now, to go away with him to the other side of the country. That wasn’t cool.

“Mom, I’m so sorry,” she said suddenly dropping the sweater she had been holding and rushing to hug her mother.

“Hey, what’s this for?” Lorelai checked, even as she hugged her back. “Rory?”

“All our plans,” she whined as she brought her head up and met her mom’s eyes. “I’ve just gone ahead and done what I wanted, spending time with Jess, and Lane, and... and now I’m going away.”

“Oh, babe, don’t worry about it,” said Lorelai seriously, pushing Rory’s hair back behind her ear. “I’m just happy that you’re happy. Y’know this is your Summer break from Yale. You worked hard all year, what kind of mother would I be if I didn’t want you to do just exactly what made you most happy in your time off?”

“Spending time with you makes me happy, always,” she promised.

Lorelai smiled wide.

“For that, I’ll actually skip the safe sex reminder lecture before you leave,” she teased her daughter, kissing her on the forehead even as she squirmed. “And hey, you’re only going to be gone a couple of weeks. We’ll have time together when you get back.”

“Definitely,” said Rory with emphasis. “Make a list, we’re going to do movie marathons, shopping trips, everything we did before we got all relationshippy with boys.”

Lorelai smirked at the phrasing, so much like her own.

“That is a deal,” she assured her. “Now, you need to get this packing done. Anything you need that’s still in the laundry because I can make a priority pile?” she offered

Rory continued to search through her clothes, listing off a few things she seemed to be missing. Lorelai knew she had worn a couple of the misplaced items and one or two more were almost definitely in the hamper for washing purposes. Not that she was really concentrating anymore. After all these years, she knew she ought to have become accustomed to the fact that Rory was growing up, but Lorelai noticed it more now than ever before.

Rory was going on vacation without her, which wasn’t a wholly new concept, but the difference came from knowing she was going with the man in her life. Lorelai’s baby girl was all grown up, in love, and so happy. It would be easy to make things difficult, to list off all the bad points about Jess when he had first come to Stars Hollow, or even some of his behaviour later on. Lorelai couldn’t bring herself to do it, not now. Jess had changed, not in the basic elements of his personality, but he had lost the selfish parts of himself, the childish need to get one over on everyone, turn things around and attack without warning just in case anybody decided to start in on him. He had grown up, and Lorelai had to think a lot of his doing so was down to both her own daughter and her boyfriend.

Thinking of Luke brought a brand new smile to Lorelai’s lips. The one upside to Rory and Jess both going away to California was that it left both her own and Luke’s calendar wide open. They had the pick of her house and his apartment to go to together and as many days and nights as they wanted to spend there, work permitting, of course.

“Mom?” said Rory with a slight frown when she got no answer to the latest question. “Are you okay?”

“I really am,” Lorelai assured her, and she meant every word.

* * *

“You almost done packing?” asked Luke as he came into the apartment to see Jess stuffing clothes into his bags.

“Almost,” his nephew nodded, moving across to the drawer to grab a few things.

Luke just stood and watched for a moment. It was weird, watching Jess pack up his stuff to leave. This time it was just temporary but it reminded Luke of previous times that had seemed much more permanent. They fought like cat and dog sometimes, but he loved his nephew dearly and really liked having him around, especially now. They were two adults sharing a space by choice now rather than an angry teen shoved into a place he never asked to be with an uncle who barely knew how to cope. It was shame that they had gotten to spend so little time together since Jess had been home. Luke smiled at the realisation that he was thinking of Stars Hollow as home for Jess, but that seemed to be how he saw it too these days.

“I’m sorry I was gone so long and delayed your plans,” said Luke aloud then. “Leaving you with the diner...”

“It was fine,” Jess assured him with a genuine smile as they faced each other. “Crazy as it sounds, I actually kind of enjoyed it.”

That made Luke smile too.

“Well, you did a good job, nephew,” he told him definitely. “Honestly, I was expecting you to do a good job but it’s genuinely almost as if I was never away.”

Jess was so touched by those words but not exactly comfortable enough to let it show. He wasn’t stupid, he knew Luke cared about him. He also knew his uncle wouldn’t say he had done such a good job if he hadn’t. It was still strange to have somebody put faith in him and not regret it, to have a another person be proud of him. Jess wondered if he would ever get used to the feeling of being loved, of being wanted and needed.

“Then I guess I earned my vacation, huh?” he smiled, awkwardly turning back to his bags and checking the contents, even though he was almost certain he had everything in there already.

“You earned more than that,” said Luke. “And trust me, when I figure out what your pay should be for all you’ve done, you’ll get it.”

“Luke, I don’t expect...”

“I know that you don’t, but you’re getting it anyway,” he smiled at his nephew, even as they both grew more awkward by the second.

Since nothing could really make it any worse, Jess ploughed on with something else he had been meaning to address.

“Y’know I get that you’re not a big fan of Jimmy. I wasn’t either, but...”

“But mostly you’re making this trip for the kid, for Lily, right?”

“Right,” Jess nodded. “Still, I don’t hate the fact I’m gonna see Jimmy. Sasha too, actually.”

Luke could say he didn’t want Jess spending time with his father, but that would be unfair, as would railing on Jimmy for all he had done wrong in the past. Luke was no less mad at the guy for running out on Liz, for leaving Jess the day he was born, but things were different now. Over eighteen and most definitely with his own money to spend on the trip, Jess was free to go where he wanted, to get to know whoever he wanted.

“Hey, if Jimmy is finally trying to be a father, to you, to Lily, whatever, then that’s great,” said Luke seriously. “I’m not gonna lie, I’d still like to knock his head off for what he put Liz through, and for not being there for the first eighteen years of your life,” he admitted. “But maybe it also matters that he’s making an effort now.”

“Maybe,” Jess agreed. “I guess people do change sometimes. I have, and, er... well, a whole lot of that is down to you.”

It was a hell of an admission to make, and in all seriousness Jess had never intended to say all of that, it just came tumbling out of his mouth in the moment. He couldn’t be sorry though, after all, it was the truth.

“Yeah, well,” Luke shifted awkwardly, adjusting his hat. “I personally think Rory had more to do with it that I did.”

“Maybe,” Jess smirked, knowing he had made his uncle feel just a stupid as he felt himself.

“Yeah, so, how about I drive you and Rory to the airport in the truck, save on leaving your car there the whole time you’re gone?” Luke offered then.

“That’d be great but Lorelai already offered,” Jess explained. “I think she and Rory have a need to do the whole teary goodbye at the gate thing,” he rolled his eyes at the very idea. “But, er, you could come along too, if you want,” he shrugged like it was no big deal.

“So long as we don’t have to cry and hug and everything?” said Luke, seemingly serious for a moment before a smirk to rival any Jess had ever worn broke through.

At that the tension broke, both men laughed, and a little normality resumed in the diner apartment.

* * *

Rory couldn’t explain the tears in her eyes as she waved goodbye to her mom and Luke. She was only going to California for a couple of weeks, not shipping off to ‘Nam. She had chosen to go and she was looking forward to the trip too. Rory wanted to be with Jess, she wanted to meet Jimmy, Sasha, and Lily. It was just hard to realise she wasn’t going to see Lorelai and Luke at all for fourteen days. She wasn’t used to being so far away for so long.

“You okay?” asked Jess, gripping her hand tighter in his as they passed through the gate and walked down to the plane.

“Uh-huh,” she nodded, even as she sniffed a little and wiped her eyes with her free hand. “I’m really looking forward to meeting everybody,” she said honestly.

That part at least Jess believed. It was weird knowing he was going to see his father again, even seeing Lily and Sasha. He was in such a different place last Summer on his first trip to the west coast. He was practically a different person now, and this time he was taking Rory to meet the people he had run to when he left her before. It was like two world’s colliding, which ought to be scary, and yet Jess was pretty sure it was all going to work out.

“Y’know, they’re gonna love you, right?” he said, pulling Rory closer, letting go of her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders instead.

“I hope so,” she smiled, leaning on his shoulder.

“But never as much as I love you,” he whispered kissing the top of her head.

Rory was a little startled by his saying so. Jess wasn’t much for over-dramatic romantic overtures. He said he loved her sometimes, and even when he didn’t keep on saying it, she knew, always. It was because he left the words unsaid so often that it felt that much more special when they suddenly came out of his mouth.

“I love you too,” she told him, moving to kiss his lips.

Sure, it was sad to be leaving Stars Hollow and it’s people behind for a while, but this was an adventure Rory wanted to have, and Jess was happy to take her along with him for the ride.


	16. Chapter 16

The flight over to the west coast was fairly uneventful. Rory started out watching the clouds go by and then eventually fell asleep beside Jess. He watched her a while, marvelling at the fact she was even here, his fingers entwined with hers even as she slept.

Jess always knew he was headed back to California this Summer, he had promised Lily as much and knew he could never break a promise to the kid. From what he knew, she’d had way too much of that already in her life, and Jess knew how that went. Far from a stable person in how own past, Jess was determined to be a regular fixture in Lily’s life if he possibly could. For the life of him he couldn’t figure out why she would looked up to him of all people, but she did, and Jess took his big brother role seriously.

Jess was pretty solid on being the best possible boyfriend too. He knew damn well how incredibly lucky he was to have gotten this second chance with Rory. Sure, she hadn’t been completely innocent in what happened with them before, but Jess knew he had to shoulder a larger share of the blame. Things were different now, he was committed to Rory, to being where she was, being what she needed. Finally she seemed to understand that he just wasn’t going to allow himself to screw up anymore, not again.

Bringing her to California was a strange feeling, the good kind of strange, but still. Seeing Jimmy again at all was weird. Jess never thought to call the guy Dad or anything, and though they had built some kind of bridge between them last Summer, they weren’t exactly close. Jess wondered if they ever would be more than quasi-friends really, but maybe that was okay. It wasn’t as if Jess really did need a father, he had gone so long without one, and honestly, if he needed the kind of support and guidance a father might be good for, he had Luke these days.

Rory made a startled sound as she came to very suddenly in her seat.

“Did I fall asleep?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Only for a couple of hours,” Jess smirked. “It’s fine, I don’t think I would’ve been very talkative anyway,” he assured her when she started to look guilty.

Rory nodded that she understood. This was a strange trip for the both of them to be making. Jess had said very little about what happened last Summer with Jimmy. There were plenty of stories about time spent with Lily, even Sasha, but Jess’ own father hardly got a mention. Rory never pushed or asked too many questions. Jess and Jimmy had no relationship at all for eighteen years, and now whatever they did have was clearly a fragile thing.

“I’ll bet Lily is excited right now,” she smiled then, squeezing Jess’ hand.

“Maybe, counting down the hours to tomorrow” he smirked as he considered it. “It was Sasha’s idea to tell a little white lie, but it will be cool to give Lil a surprise.”

Rory smiled at the grin that came over Jess’ face when he talked about his step-sister. It was so great to realise that finally her boyfriend had a family. Okay so it was Luke in one place and Lily in another, and it couldn’t ever make up for him being so lonely and seemingly unwanted as a child, but it was a good start for the future. It made Rory very happy anyway.

“How long until we touch down?” she asked, glancing out of the window.

“Er, around a half hour, I think,” said Jess, checking his watch. “It’s weird, thinking about the last time I came here...”

Rory looked at him when his words faded away. There was a trace of pain in his eyes, less like he was hurting himself but like he feared causing her to suffer. Rory knew why, given the circumstances under which Jess had come to California last time. He had left her then, without so much as a goodbye. Not his proudest moment, and yes, it had hurt her a lot, but they were just kids then. Okay, so it was only a little over a year ago now, but it was amazing how much a person could grow in that time. Rory felt like a whole other person compared to the kid that had cried over Jess leaving. He certainly seemed different to the boy that left her behind. They were young adults now, and were that much more secure in the love they shared. Rory didn’t have any fears of things ending badly this time, they were both going to make sure of that.

“I’m so glad that you wanted me to come along on this trip,” she said then.

“I should’ve brought you the last time,” Jess sighed. “Worst mistake of my life was leaving that day the way I did...”

“Jess, don’t.”

“Rory, I have to.”

“But you already apologised, we both did.”

“I know,” he agreed, because it was true enough.

Still, Jess couldn’t quite shake the guilt that came with the memories of leaving Rory the way he had. She could forgive him as much as she wanted, it was going to take a whole lot longer to forgive himself.

“You’re amazing, you know that, right?” he asked her, leaning back in his seat and just taking a moment to marvel at the wonder that was Rory Gilmore.

She almost blushed under his intense gaze, the way she so often had when they first met and he would deliberately try to unsettle her. Rory always wondered what it was Jess saw in her that first day they met, what it was that made him decide she was the one. Honestly, she couldn’t explain the one thing she fell for when it came to him either, there was just a connection there from the start, and she doubted it could ever really be severed, even if they tried.

“I think the altitude might be affecting your brain,” she joked.

“There’s not much you’re bad at, Gilmore, but taking a compliment is right there on the list,” he told her, rolling his eyes.

“Yes, because you’re just great at that,” she told him smartly, leaning in for a kiss. “Maybe that’s just one more reason why we belong together.”

“Maybe,” he agreed, kissing her deeply.

They were interrupted from their moment by the pilot’s voice informing the passengers they would be landing in the next ten minutes. Everybody needed to be in their seats with their belts fastened as they began their descent. They had arrived in California at last.

* * *

The cab was just a couple of streets from Jimmy’s place when Jess had a thought. He called Rory’s attention away from the window and looked at her too seriously.

“You’re cool with dogs, right?” he checked.

Rory was thrown by the random question.

“Yeah, sure,” she assured him anyway. “Oh, do they have a dog?”

Jess opened his mouth to answer but didn’t actually bother when he realised they had reached their destination. He bit his lip and moved to get out of the cab. Rory followed with a frown on her face. 

“Jess?” she prompted, watching him and the driver get the bags from the back of the car. “Jess, why are you...?”

The question remained unfinished as she turned at the sound of barking. Rory had wide eyes and a slack jaw as she and Jess walked up to the gate of what had to be Jimmy’s house. There were at least half a dozen dogs leaping up at the fence, and probably another equal amount milling about on a mostly destroyed lawn. Big dogs, little dogs, kinds that Rory could never name, all barking loudly at the new arrivals. She was quite amazed by the sight.

“Sasha kinda takes in strays,” Jess explained, having to raise his voice some over the noise of the dogs. “I guess that’s why she warmed up to me so easy,” he smirked as he moved to open the gate.

Rory’s hand on his arm stopped him.

“Um, none of them bite or anything, do they?” she checked.

“Only two of ‘em,” Jess assured her, laughing a little at the expression that caused. “C’mon, I promise to protect you, okay?”

Rory nodded absently, eyes fixed firmly on the canine collection as she slipped into the yard behind Jess. They made it onto the porch unscathed, with Jess even pausing to pat a couple of the dogs on the head, perhaps those who had been around last Summer when he visited. Rory wasn’t sure how well dogs remembered people and for how long it stuck, but it was the only reason she could think of for a few being that much more friendly than the rest.

She looked away from the dogs that continued to scamper around the yard and her heels when Jess knocked on the door. Within a moment, a pretty woman wearing hippy-style clothes and a bandana answered the door and grinned at the sight of them.

“Jess! Welcome back, sweetheart!” she greeted him warmly with a tight hug.

Rory completely forgot about the wild animals that had been bothering her before, smiling widely at the show of affection when Jess hugged back.

“Hey, Sasha,” he replied as they released each other.

“And this must be the famous Rory,” she smiled then. “I’m Sasha, and you’re very welcome in our home.”

“Thank you.”

They went inside then as Sasha explained in a quiet voice that Jimmy was still working but would be home soon. Jess looked around as if wondering where Lily might be and Sasha read the question from his vibe before he ever got a chance to ask.

“Lil is in our room, usual place,” she smiled.

Jess nodded in understanding, grabbed Rory’s hand and pulled her to come with him. She automatically dropped her bags down next to Jess’ own abandoned pile of luggage and hurried behind him through the unfamiliar house. It was weird but nice, reminding her a little of her mother’s own taste. An eclectic mix of nick-nacks and treasures, clowns on shelves, pictures on the walls. Rory liked it and felt instantly as if this was a very happy little home.

Suddenly they entered a bedroom, presumably Sasha and Jimmy’s own. Jess turned and made the universal symbol for quiet with a finger to his lips as he crept towards the large closet by the back wall. Rory wasn’t as bemused by the action as she might be, after all, Jess had explained Lily’s penchant for hiding away when she read her books. In the closet, under the bed, anywhere she could be alone with the fantasy world of a good story. Rory didn’t think it was all that strange really. She could imagine quite enjoying such an activity herself, if she was still small enough to fit in those kind of spaces.

Jess approached the closet without a sound, put his hand out to the edge on the door with a smile already plastered on his face. A silent countdown in his head led to his yanking the door open with a shout;

“What are you doing in here, munchkin?”

Lily literally jumped, completely shocked by the intrusion, but just as soon as her brain caught up with the situation she grinned, practically throwing herself out of the closet and into Jess’ waiting arms.

“You’re here!” she squealed happily. “Jess, you’re here!”

“I’m aware of that actually,” he laughed as her arms wrapped around his neck and gripped so hard he could barely breathe.

It was okay. It was actually a really nice feeling to have someone be this pleased to see him. She was one of few who ever felt so much affection for him. Jess just smiled as he hugged her back and explained that they came a day early to surprise her.

“I should be mad at you,” she told him with a mock-stern expression that really didn’t suit her childish face when they pulled apart.

“Yeah, but we both know you’re not,” he told her. “Now, come on, you gotta meet someone,” he said, turning her around and making her finally notice the other person in the room. “Lily, this is Rory Gilmore,” he introduced. “My girlfriend.”

He seemed to like saying that and Rory certainly didn’t mind hearing it. Still, as much as anything she felt a little awkward stood here being presented to a girl of eleven who had just been hugging the life out of Jess. They talked on the phone once and seemed to ge along well enough, but Rory was still a little worried she would fail to impress Lily in person.

“Hey,” she gave a little awkward wave. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, Lily.”

The little girl grinned and then hurried over to hug Rory almost as tight as she hugged Jess.

“I always told Mom I wanted a brother, because out of the two choices, I thought another guy would balance out the family a little,” she explained, looking up at Rory then. “But I kinda wanted to be selfish and have a sister too.”

“Well, now I guess you kinda do have both,” said Jess, getting back on his feet.

He and Rory shared a look over Lily’s head. This was nice, a real family moment somehow, the like of which neither ever thought to have, not like this.

“Hey, guys?” Sasha called to them then. “Jimmy’s home.”

Lily went running ahead just the moment she heard that, supposedly to wax lyrical on the wonder of having Jess here early and Rory too. Jess took in a deep breath and let it out as he walked over to Rory and reached for her hand.

“You okay?” 

“I was about to ask you that,” she replied.

“Yeah,” he said vaguely, running a hand back through his hair. “It’s cool to see Lil, Sasha too. I’m just not sure how things with me and Jimmy will be, or what he’ll say to you. I mean, he was cool about you coming here, but...”

“First time introducing a parent to your significant other,” Rory nodded. “Awkward.”

“Something like that,” he agreed with a smirk he couldn’t help at her matter of fact and seemingly experienced attitude.

“It’ll be fine,” she promised, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

Jess nodded and then made his way back towards the living room with Rory on his heels. Jimmy was hearing from Lily how awesome it was that Jess and Rory had arrived a day early, listing off all the things she wanted to do this Summer now they were there, something Jess had no doubt she had already done at least fifty times before their arrival. Jimmy looked up from the kid’s incessant yammering when Jess and Rory walked in.

“Hey,” he greeted them.

“Hi,” said Jess awkwardly. “Er, Rory, Jimmy,” he introduced with as few words as possible.

“Hello,” Rory nodded once, taking the hand Jimmy offered and shaking it.

“Good to meet you, Rory,” he told her with a smile she recognised somehow.

She couldn’t help but grin herself when she realised it made him look a little more like Jess. Jimmy offered to help Jess move the bags through to the spare room, which apparently now contained a bed rather than just the mattress like last year. Rory watched the guys disappear through the door with Lily on their heels, and shifted awkwardly in place herself, not knowing what to do.

“Rory, honey, is there anything you don’t eat?” Sasha asked, her hand on her shoulder.

“Er, no, not really,” she assured her. “No allergies or anything like that anyway.”

“Good to know,” she smiled as they faced each other. “Y’know, you’re even prettier than Jess described you,” Sasha said then, taking Rory’s chin in her hand as she seemed to inspect her with a smile, “and believe me, that is really saying something.”

Rory coloured at the comment, watching as Sasha headed off to the kitchen, muttering about what to make for dinner. From the bedroom, childish laughter echoed, and outside the dogs chased each other around the lawn quite happily. Sasha started to sing as she cooked in the kitchen, and Rory felt an odd warmth wash over her that she suspected didn’t just come from the sunny weather of California. Maybe she was going to be even more comfortable here than she thought.


	17. Chapter 17

Dinner with the Mariano clan was quite an experience, Rory found. Of course, she knew that her calling the family by that name wasn’t entirely accurate since Jimmy and Sasha weren’t married, and Lily wasn’t Jess’ blood sister, but it worked for inside her head, because they really all did seem like a genuine family. It was odd to see Jess being a part of that, but a very nice kind of odd. He still called his father Jimmy rather than dad and obviously there was still a lot of awkwardness in their situation, but Jess played big brother to Lily like a pro, and he seemed quite comfortable being himself around her and Sasha. It made Rory smile.

“So, Rory, you go to college, right?” asked Jess’ almost-step-mom.

“Er, yeah, I go to Yale,” she replied, putting another forkful of delicious pasta into her mouth.

“Wow, Yale,” Jimmy nodded. “Smart girl.”

“She’s the smartest,” said Jess easily, without even looking up from his food.

Rory blushed, which in turn made Lily giggle.

“I’m not that smart,” Rory muttered. “I just, I love to read and to write. I’m hoping to be a journalist someday, and there’s so much to learn, it’s almost overwhelming sometimes, but I do love it at Yale.”

“Well, I know that the uneducated do not get into Ivy League schools,” said Sasha. “I was never really the academic type myself, more artistic, but hey, not everybody is the same,” she shrugged.

There was an awkward moment then, as Jess cleared his throat almost in unison with Jimmy, the pair of them shifting in their seats like they wished they were anywhere else. Rory felt bad. Jess hadn’t even graduated high school and here she was waxing lyrical about Yale. It seemed fine to talk to him about school before, but in front of his family, she suddenly felt as if she were being big-headed, accidentally putting him down for not wanting to try more and attend college himself. Maybe even Jimmy felt a little dumb. He couldn’t be in any way stupid if he was running his own business, but perhaps he really was the guy that Jess took after, perhaps school just hadn’t been his thing.

“I mean, really,” Sasha continued. “So long as you come out of school with your diploma or the GED, what does it really matter to most people?”

Rory looked sideways at Jess but he refused to meet her gaze, instead focusing on Lily and deliberately changing the subject.

“So, what’s the plan, munchkin?” he asked her. “I’m guessing you’ve got a hundred and one things in your head that you want to do while me and Rory are here.”

“I thought you’d never ask!” she said excitedly, pulling a piece of paper from her back pocket and handing it over.

Jess dropped his fork and unfolded the paper, eyes going a little wide at the list Lily had prepared. Some of it was just a whole string of books she wanted to discuss with him and Rory, but there were other activities too, places she wanted to go and such. She had big plans for her pseudo brother and sister, that was for sure. He laughed as he got to the bottom of the list.

“Yeah, you do know we only plan on being here like two weeks, right?” he checked.

Lily’s face fell.

“We can do most of the staff in that time, right?” she said hopefully. “And you could stay longer if you wanted, couldn’t they, Mom?”

“Lil, you can’t expect Jess and Rory to want to spend all of their Summer in California with us,” she said carefully, patting her daughter’s hand. “They have other family and friends to spend time with too, and y’know, they probably wanted some alone time also,” she said with a knowing look.

Neither Jess nor Rory could hold her gaze then.

“I’m sure we’ll have time for lots of things on your list, Lily,” said Rory kindly. “I really want to get to know you better. Jess has told me so much, but you know what boys are like, they can’t be trusted to give all the facts,” she rolled her eyes.

Jess scoffed at the suggestion as he handed Lily’s list back to her. Sasha only laughed. She liked this girl already.

* * *

It wasn’t long after dinner that Rory started yawning. Despite sleeping on the plane, the cross country travel seemed to have taken its toll. Besides, she really hadn’t gotten much rest the past couple of nights before they came here, such was the nerves and excitement combined bubbling up inside of her at the prospect of meeting these people that clearly meant a lot ot Jess.

Lily had gone to bed a while ago, and as Rory let out another large yawn, Jess suggested they follow suit and head for their room. It felt a little strange to be spending the night together here, Rory thought, as she changed into her nightwear. She and Jess slept above the diner together, even in Rory’s house a couple of times, but this was somebody else’s home and this had been assigned as their room for as long as they were here. Yes, it felt very weird indeed.

“You okay?” asked Jess as they climbed into bed together.

“Yeah, sure” she told him, though the look on her face made a liar out of her and the look he gave her proved it. “I am, Jess, honestly, it’s just strange. This is our room, for as long as we’re here. I get to spend every night with you. It’s nice, it’s just... weird.”

He laughed at her phrasing and expression, pulling her close in his arms and kissing the top of her head.

“Well, don’t go getting any ideas, Gilmore,” he told her jokingly, as his voice dropped to a whisper. “These walls are thin, so no seducing me, okay?”

She laughed too at that suggestion.

“I’ll try to keep myself under control,” she assured him with mock-seriousness, kissing his lips. “Might not be easy though.”

He kissed her back, knowing there was more truth to that than either of them were going to admit right now. It was probably a good thing that for tonight at least they were both a little too tired to try anything. Both Jess and Rory had their eyes closed within five minutes, and yet she clearly wasn’t going to sleep when suddenly she spoke.

“Jess?”

“Yeah?” he replied sleepily, his eyes still shut as she looked up at him.

“I’m sorry about dinner, about the whole education thing. I don’t think Sasha meant to be mean and I certainly wasn’t trying to line up any digs at you...”

“Rory,” he said as he opened his eyes to look at her, silencing her in a second. “Sasha wasn’t trying to get at me, I know that,” he promised her with a smile. “Y’know last Summer when I was here and she found out I didn’t graduate, she convinced me to take my GED. Her and Jimmy even paid for me to do it.”

“Oh,” said Rory, feeling silly now for ever bringing it up again. “I didn’t know...”

“Because I didn’t tell you,” Jess shrugged easily. “I passed by the way.”

“I didn’t doubt it,” she assured him. “You’re the smartest guy I know, Jess, and that’s the truth.”

Jess had about a hundred answers to that, but none Rory would care to hear. Saying he couldn’t be that smart because he left her and hurt her, that was just hashing over old ground that she insisted didn’t need to be covered. Instead, he just leaned in to kiss her lips one more time.

“We should get some sleep,” he told her softly. “Lily has so many plans for us tomorrow,” he rolled his eyes.

“She’s so sweet, she just really loves her big brother,” Rory smiled. “I think it’s adorable.”

“I think she’s cracked for looking up to a guy like me,” he sighed. “But hey, who am I to argue with you crazy women that think I’m so great?”

“Well, it certainly wouldn’t get you anywhere,” she told him, planting one last kiss on his lips. “Sleep now,” she declared, closing her eyes and settling down to rest.

Jess only smiled and held her tighter. There was no way he could deserve all the love in his life, from Rory, Lily, Sasha, even Luke, but he was going to take as much as he was being offered and hold onto it for as long as it lasted. Above all, he was not going to screw up, not with any of these people, not again; especially not with Rory.

* * *

Lorelai laid awake in the dark, staring at the ceiling. It was so stupid, but she just couldn’t sleep in an empty house. That made absolutely no sense since Rory had been away at Yale more often than she was home this past year, but somehow knowing she was that much further away felt different. They never once had a whole country between them before. It felt strange. Lorelai reached for the phone on her nightstand, her thumb hovering over the speed-dial for Rory’s cell. She stopped herself at the last minute. Counting back the three hour time difference, it would still be almost eleven o’clock. Rory and Jess would be asleep... or doing something else that no mother needed to think about her baby girl doing. Either way, a phone call probably wouldn’t be welcome. Lorelai considered a text but soon changed her mind on that too. She tossed her cell back on the nightstand and turned over, pounding her pillow, hoping to get comfortable and go to sleep. Five minutes later, she sat up again with a huge sigh.

This was ridiculous and she knew it, but sleep just wasn’t coming to her. She supposed it wasn’t just the lack of company, it was knowing that said lack was going to last for at least two weeks. She would get calls, that was certain, but maybe not every day, and there certainly wouldn’t be visits. It wasn’t as easy to deal with as Rory being at Yale. Lorelai couldn’t believe she had ever pushed so hard for Rory to go to Harvard, there was no way she would’ve survived.

The day had been okay, between working at the inn and seeing Luke, Lorelai barely had a chance to miss Rory. She recalled then the talk she and her daughter had when Rory was packing, about how as much as they wanted to spend time together this Summer, it would also be nice to get a little alone time with the guys they loved. Lorelai smiled at the thought.

Hopping out of bed, she slipped on her sneakers and hurried down stairs, throwing her jacket on over her sweat pants and vest top that she had been (not) sleeping in. Keys in hand, she hurried towards the front door, opened it up and made a dash down the driveway. Carefully circumventing Babette’s front porch, just in case she was on the lookout even at this hour, Lorelai took herself into town, thankfully without incident. It wasn’t far to the diner, and though it was late, the dark wasn’t as black and scary as it might’ve been later in the year. The beautiful summer days meant the nights were mild enough and not too gloomy.

Reaching the diner door, Lorelai reached for the spare key, whose hiding place was no secret to her or Rory since they helped Jess run the place. She let herself inside and locked the door again behind her, then carefully moved amongst the tables and stacked chairs without bumping into anything. She managed to get all the way to the top of the stairs before she stepped on a creaky board. A light came on and the office door swung open to reveal Luke, wearing nothing but sweatpants and a scowl.

“Hi,” said Lorelai, a little distracted by all the semi-nakedness of her boyfriend.

“Lorelai?” he squinted through the haze of sleep, rubbing one eye. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Is it Rory and Jess?” he asked worriedly.

“Oh, no. No, no, nothing bad has happened,” she promised quickly, feeling bad she ever made him worry like that. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have just... I should’ve called or, y’know, been a grown up and stayed home by myself and slept,” she started to ramble.

Luke shook his head, and then moved away from the door and ushered Lorelai inside. It was only when she passed by him, she noticed the baseball bat in the hand he had behind the door. Lorelai felt very lucky that he hadn’t used it without checking first.

“I’m such an idiot,” she sighed, pushing her hair back off her face, leaving her hand over her eyes a moment. “Luke, I’m sorry, I just... I was at home all alone, and the house felt so empty, which is crazy because I should be used to that by now, it just being me, I mean. Rory is away at Yale all the time, and I’m just fine with that, but now I know she’s gone for two whole weeks to the other side of the country and... and it’s stupid, I know, but I just needed company, and there’s nobody’s company I like better than yours.”

Luke smiled at the sentiment, and at Lorelai’s usual brand of crazy. He wasn’t mad that she came over, and he couldn’t mind that she wanted to be with him either. Despite the way it might have sounded to some people, he knew her only reason for being here wasn’t just because Rory was away. It was as much about having missed him before when he was gone, as it was missing her kid now.

“C’mere, crazy lady,” he said, gesturing for her to come closer.

Lorelai smiled as she went willingly into his arms.

“Why, Mr Danes, whatever are you doing?” she asked in her best Southern belle voice as his hands slid inside her jacket.

She didn’t ask any more questions when he kissed her and then led her to his bed. Somehow Lorelai had a feeling it was actually to sleep rather than anything else. As disappointing as that ought to have been, she didn’t mind at all. Just being here felt infinitely better than her own bed, and Lorelai knew why. Anywhere with Luke always felt like home.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a bout of illness, I am back! Another new chapter in sunny Californ-I-A ;)

It sure didn’t take long for Rory to feel right at home in Venice Beach. She hadn’t expected it. Spending time with Jess was always of the good, and though he spoke of Lily and Sasha in glowing terms, Rory really hadn’t expected them to welcome her into their home and family so readily. Jimmy was pleasant enough, pretty quiet and awkward though. It made sense, since Jess could be just the same around people he didn’t know too well. Rory wondered if it was her or the return of Jess making him so nervous, but she didn’t like to ask the father or the son, so was left to wonder.

Most of the time Rory spent with Jess and Lily both. The little sister figure loved Jess to no end and seemed no less enamoured with Rory. She wanted to be with them all the time, and was happy to spend hours in their company. Rory couldn’t mind. Lily was a very smart kid and had read some really good books. They discussed novels at length between the three of them and then they would go out and spend some time on the boardwalk. Some of that time was in book stores along the way, but Rory just loved the life of the place too. Everything from acrobats to fortune tellers plied for trade, amongst people selling hemp hats and swirling henna tattoos onto the skin of anyone who stopped by. There was nothing and no-one that wasn’t full of colour and life. Rory couldn’t imagine ever running out of things to see and do, and Lily more than made sure she missed nothing.

“I am exhausted!” exclaimed Rory as she sat down hard in the nearest seat. “In the best way, but still.”

“I swear we’ve walked about twenty miles,” Jess agreed as he slid into the chair beside her and Lily scrambled into the one opposite. “I’m beat.”

“Come on!” his step-sister complained. “You cannot be this tired! It’s barely two o’clock!”

“Where does this kid get her energy?” Rory sighed, leaning heavily on Jess with her eyes closed. “I wasn’t built for this. Didn’t you tell her? Gilmores aren’t built for this!”

Jess smirked some, kissing the top of her head.

“Lil, you got to go easy on the activities,” he reminded her. “Rory’s a stay at home kind of a girl. I thought you were too, for the most part.”

“I am,” she shrugged easily. “But Rory hasn’t seen all the cool suff we have here, and we have a limited time to show her!”

“I have news, it’s not just the time that’s limited,” said Rory herself tiredly. “We are also limited by the capabilities of my legs, which right now, have no capability of moving whatsoever.”

She continued to lean on Jess so much that he almost started to tip off his own chair. He hugged her close a while and then shoved her back to her own chair as gently as he could.

“Hey, how about some food to reboot the system?” he offered. “Hot dog with everything maybe?”

When she opened her eyes and saw the smile on his face she knew he had made that particular suggestion on purpose.

“It’ll never be as good as New York,” she told him, eyes sparkling with fun and a memory they were both sharing in this moment.

“Actually, Jimmy’s hotdogs are pretty good,” Lily chimed in, since of course she had no idea what the idea of eating such food in NYC meant to the couple before her. “He gets pretty crazy about having all the original old branded stuff, but they taste awesome.”

“They do,” Jess agreed. “You want?” he checked with Rory.

“Please,” she nodded her agreement, accepting a kiss from her boyfriend before he got up to go fetch the food.

Lily giggled watching Rory stare after Jess.

“You two are kinda like a fairy-tale.”

Rory giggled at that comment herself, and blushed into the bargain. She never really thought about herself and Jess that way, as any leading characters from children’s fables of old or even from a Disney movie. Apparently the perspective of a child was just different.

“Hmm, I’m not sure Jess was quite Prince Charming when we first met,” she considered with a smile.

“Maybe not,” Lilly agreed. “But it’s still kinda like a fairy-tale. I mean, you met, you fell in love, and then he went away to come here, but in the end he came back and you got reunited. Now you’re living happily ever after.”

Rory opened her mouth to answer that but no words came out so she closed it again. It didn’t really surprise her that Lily knew what had happened with her and Jess. Though she was sure he wouldn’t have divulged all the details to a ten year old, or to Jimmy for that matter, she could believe Lily got the canned version, and that Sasha likely had the whole story, perhaps even with her daughter listening in. Still, Rory had never thought of Jess coming back to her as particularly story book. Happily ever after would be great, but there was a little voice in Rory’s head, even now, that wondered if it were possible after everything.

“Um, so which fairy-tale do you think we’re from?” she asked, shaking her head to clear the serious thoughts, keeping the mood light for Lily. “Am I Snow White? Cinderella? ‘Cause right now I feel like Sleeping Beauty,” she joked, leaning all over the table as if she were about to collapse and take a nap.

Lily laughed.

“I don’t know,” she considered. “Maybe fairy-tale is the wrong word, or maybe you’re just writing one of your own,” she shrugged.

“Maybe we are,” Rory agreed, looking back over her shoulder to where her boyfriend was finding the best way to carry three hotdogs back to their table.

Jess returning to Stars Hollow, the two of them reconnecting the way they had, she supposed it was a little like a fairy-tale, all things considered. They were reunited on the dance floor at his mother’s wedding, talked things through on the bridge which had always been their special place, and finally sealed their love in the physical sense in her bedroom, the very place where they had first met. As fairy-tales went, Rory couldn’t exactly say it was a bad plot line, and it certainly had a happy ending. Not that she considered this to be an ending for her and Jess, more like a new beginning.

“I’m really glad he brought you here,” said Lily then getting Rory’s attention back.

“Me too,” she agreed. “He certainly seems to like being your big brother.”

“It is cool. Being an only child is fine sometimes, but...”

“It can get lonely,” Rory sympathised. “But hey, now we have each other, you, me, Jess...”

“It bothers me that I just heard my name,” said her boyfriend as he returned to the table, not only balancing three hot dogs but also a coffee for Rory, and two bottles of soda under his arm for himself and Lily.

Rory helped him get everything onto the table with a smile.

“We were only saying nice things about you, I promise,” she assured him, sending a wink across the table at Lily who giggled in response.

What she said was true, but what she implied would drive Jess crazy, Rory knew. It was fun though, to be able to tease each other like they used to, to just relax and have fun together, the two of them and Lily also. Rory genuinely did feel at home here, and yet just thinking of how things used to be when she and Jess first dated took her mind back to Stars Hollow. This scene could only ever really be improved by Lorelai being there, and Luke too if Rory were honest. She really needed to call her mom tonight. Three days on texting alone wasn’t really enough.

* * *

“Am I a terrible person?” Lorelai asked Luke as they cleared their dinner dishes into the kitchen.

“Of course not,” he assured her. “You’re a mother who loves her daughter. There is absolutely nothing terrible about that.”

Poor Lorelai, he did feel bad for her. She was really missing Rory a lot, and seemed hurt by the fact she had received nothing but texts since her daughter went away. There was no way Rory was deliberately being cruel, Luke knew that for sure. Their girl just wasn’t like that. The truth was she was probably having such a good time in California with Jess that it hadn’t crossed her mind that her mom would be pining.

“I feel bad,” Lorelai sighed heavily as Luke started bagging up trash and tidying the kitchen in general. “I mean, she’s not a little kid, she’s not required to check in every ten minutes or anything,” she explained. “Rory is a grown woman, she has a boyfriend, and she’s staying with his family. Meeting new people, seeing new places, I totally understand why she’s distracted and not calling. She’s been in contact, texts are great, I just...”

“You just miss her,” said Luke, abandoning what he was doing to turn around and pull his girlfriend into his arms. “It’s perfectly normal, Lorelai. I mean, not to put my foot on a landmine here, but when I was away and you were missing me, as much as I missed you too, when I was really busy with things, well, you don’t have time to stop and think, so...”

“It’s okay,” she smiled, taking pity on him as soon as she realised where Luke was going with his words. “I know when one person is out in the world adventuring and all, you don’t get quite as much time to miss another person who is sat on their butt wishing the first person was there,” she said the way only a Gilmore could.

Her arms went up around his neck as he pulled her closer.

“Trust me” he said softly. “Any time I wasn’t up to my eyes in Renaissance craziness, the only thing on my mind was coming home to you.”

“Hmm, I believe that,” she smiled. “I mean, I am pretty amazing.”

“Yes, you are,” he agreed with amusement, but no less sincerity as he leaned down to kiss her.

They were both so caught up in the moment, Lorelai almost missed the fact the phone had started to ring. A second later the sound reached her ears and she scrambled out of Luke’s arms, pelting into the hall. He might’ve been offended if he didn’t know she was only so fast to move because of Rory. He could never be mad at the Gilmore girls for loving each other like they did. He loved the both of them more than he could ever express.

“Rory!” he heard Lorelai yell from the hall. “Oh, fruit of my loins! Mommy has missed you so much!”

“I missed you too” said Rory, sat comfortably on the bed in the room she was sharing with Jess.

She had opted to come home and make her call whilst Jess and Lily remained on the boardwalk a while longer. Her boyfriend completely understood her wanting to talk to her mother alone, which Rory appreciated. It allowed her to speak ever more freely, as a Gilmore was want to do.

“So how’s California?” asked Lorelai with enthusiasm.

“It’s great, everything is great here,” Rory assured her. “Lily is so sweet, we’re getting along really well.”

She continued to wax lyrical on the great time she was having, and Lorelai sat down on the couch to listen intently. Sure, she missed Rory and wished she was home already, but it was very nice to hear that her daughter was having the best time on a well-earned vacation with new people who had accepted her into their home and family. Lorelai couldn’t be sad about Rory being away, she was just happy for her little girl, and all the joy she was finding in life right now.


	19. Chapter 19

“Honey, I would, but you know I have a laundry list of stuff to do today, I just... I can’t, I’m sorry,” said Sasha regretfully, even now buzzing around the kitchen without stopping as if to prove her point.

“No, I get it, Sash. It’s fine,” Jimmy told her. “Er, I guess I can call Becky...”

“The girl you fired for stealing?” his girlfriend checked, incredularity evident in her tone. “You’re not serious!”

“Sash, I have a meeting with a supplier, and no-one to hold down the fort,” he explained to her too loudly. “I can’t just close up. You know how it is on the boardwalk...”

“Sounds pretty serious in there,” said Rory as she, Jess, and Lily passed through the living room.

They were headed out to the beach and the boardwalk, and were in fact going to ask the adults if they wanted to come along. Jess knew Jimmy loved the sand and sea, having told him once he would marry the beach if he could, and Sasha was easily convinced to join any event branded a family day out. It was Saturday and so it was assumed that maybe neither of them would be too busy, but clearly that was untrue.

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do!” Jimmy exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table just as Jess slipped into the room.

Rory and Lily followed him but hung back by the door, neither of them wanting to say anything that might make matters worse.

“You need help at Dante’s?” asked Jess. “Because you know I can...”

“Jess, that’s really sweet of you," Sasha told him, "but you’re a guest here, you’re on vacation.” 

“Doesn’t mean I can’t help out” he shrugged easily. “I mean, if anybody should...”

The sentence was left incomplete, and yet the level of tension increased seven-fold from what was implied. Dante’s Inferno was Jimmy’s business, and Jess was his son, that made it a family venture if he stepped in to help. The connection between Jimmy and Jess was really never explicitly mentioned, which seemed bizarre to Rory and yet she sort of understood. At some point they must’ve talked about things. On Jess’ first visit to Venice Beach, she knew certain points had been discussed, because he told her so, but for the most part she stayed out of the awkward father-son relationship that didn’t seem to have developed beyond a general friendship of sorts.

“You sure you want to spend a perfectly good Saturday serving hot dogs to beach bums?” asked Jimmy seriously. “I mean, you have pretty decent alternative options,” he smiled slightly as his eyes drifted past Jess to Rory in her short shorts, vest top, and sun hat.

Jess smirked some then looked back at his girlfriend.

“You don’t mind, right?” he checked with Rory who shook her head.

“Me and Lil can have fun by ourselves for one day, can’t we?” she asked the girl at her side.

“Sure, I guess,” she smiled. “We can talk about you and you’ll never know,” she told Jess then, poking out her tongue at him and getting the very same reaction back.

That made Rory laugh if nothing else.

“Then it looks like I’m working today,” said Jess, turning back to face his father.

Rory was a little sad not to have her boyfriend’s company, but she meant what she said about being okay with spending the day with Lilly. They got along, and the kid wasn’t wrong when it came to being able to talk about Jess. She didn’t really have another fan of her boyfriend to talk frankly to, and though Lilly was only ten she was frighteningly grown-up for her age in so many ways. She was definite on what an awesome big brother Jess was, and offered mature insight into Jimmy and Sasha too. Rory felt her judgement could be trusted even if she did make overly innocent and childish comments sometimes, such as likening the great Rory-Jess romance to a fairytale. Even that had a basis of truth, Rory realised as she kissed her boyfriend and headed out with just Lilly by her side. They had their share of pain and hurt, but Rory knew for sure that Jess could only be described as her one true love. She had loved Dean, she knew that too, but it was never like it was with Jess, and Rory doubted anything ever could be as strong or as deep.

* * *

“I really have to learn to curb my enthusiasm for books,” said Rory with a sigh, shaking her head. “I know it’s never going to happen, but seriously, how am I going to get them all home?” she asked rhetorically as she looked down into the paper bag bearing the logo of SWM Books. “The plane won’t be able to take off with all the extra weight!”

“Any you wanna leave behind, I’ll keep them,” Lilly offered as if being selfless though she was being quite the contrary. “I could be like your librarian, and then next time you come to visit you could pick some to read and others to take home again.”

Rory smiled at the sweet idea, especially the part where she came back to Venice Beach on a semi-regular basis. It wasn’t such a crazy thought, after all, Jess was bound to be back again at some point, and Rory certainly wouldn’t mind if he wanted to bring her along a second time, or more. Still, she wasn’t about to make any promises to Lily, not when things were so undefined with Jess and Jimmy.

“It’s a thought,” she told her non-committally as they continued on walking.

“Oh, I love this place!” the ten year old said happily as they came upon one of many henna tattoo stands on the boardwalk. “It’s all so pretty,” she declared, looking at the boards full of various design ideas, some actual pictures, others just pretty patterns.

Rory looked too, marvelling at the amazing artwork. She wasn’t really the artistic type herself. Words, numbers, that all made sense to Rory, but as much as she had tried her hand at drawing and painting in the past, she wasn’t really all that great at it. Sasha was definitely the arty type, and what she could do with charcoal, paints, or even a needle and thread was simply amazing.

“Mom won’t let me get one, even though they’re totally non-permanent,” Lilly huffed and sighed. “But I like seeing the other people get them, until I’m finally old enough to get one myself,” she sighed heavily.

Rory smiled at the childhood dramatics she knew she had been so fond of at that age too. Still, she was barely looking at Lilly. Her eyes had fixed on one particular design on the board in front of her. She never seriously considered getting a real tattoo, the permanent kind that you had to be a hundred percent sure about or suffer the consequences, but like Lily said, henna wasn’t permanent. Sure, it’d stay on her skin for a while, but not forever, and she was suddenly so sure of the design she wanted and just where it would go, she couldn’t resist the lure of the stand anymore.

“Lil, how’d you like to see one of these things done really up close?” she asked her young friend with a grin.

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time Rory and Lilly got home. After they got done at the henna tattoo stand it was time to eat and then they went to sit on the beach and read for a bit. As mid-afternoon sun grew ever stronger, Rory decided they should get home before they burnt to a crisp. They came hurrying into the house, all smiles and laughter. Their joyful entrance brought Sasha from the kitchen, her hands covered in flour.

“Wow, you’re going to go home with twice as much luggage as you came with, Ror,” she told her when she saw the bag of books in her hand.

“You don’t know the half of it,” she giggled. “I kind of had a crazy moment on the boardwalk,” she admitted then, turning around to show Sasha the henna markings she had done today.

“Wow,” said Sasha. “That’s really cool,” she marvelled at the workmanship and smiled at the design, running a careful finger over Rory’s shoulder. “Your guy’s going to go nuts,” she said in a low voice, alerting the girls to the fact Jess was already home. “He’s in your room, scribbling away in that notebook again.”

Sasha rolled her eyes, and Rory frowned a little. She wasn’t sure what Jess would be writing but if Sasha was to be believed this wasn’t the first time he had been caught doing it. Before Lilly could argue, her mother dragged her into the kitchen to help with the baking, clearly aware that the little girl would want to be in the middle of Rory and Jess if allowed. Not that they minded as such, but Sasha knew all couples needed their own space at times. Now seemed liked one of those times to her.

“Huh,” said Rory from the bedroom doorway, sounding way more like her boyfriend than normal.

Jess looked up sharply from the legal pad balanced on his knees. He was sat up by the headboard of their bed, scribbling frantically just as Sasha had suggested. This was how Rory got when she was writing an essay for school, but she knew damn well that wasn’t the kind of thing Jess would be doing. If he was writing her a letter that would be romantic, but it seemed unlikely when she was right here with him.

“Rory, hey,” he greeted her, looking between her and the notepad. “I guess I have something to tell you,” he considered.

Coming over to the bed she climbed onto the other side on her knees then peered over at the pad in Jess’ hands and he let her see. It took all of two of three sentences for her to realise what he was doing.

“You’re writing a story?” she checked.

“Er, a short novel, kind of, maybe,” he said, awkward as she had ever seen him as he rubbed at his forehead a moment. “I don’t know, I just got this idea in my head and I started putting it down on paper... I’m not even sure I know why I started,” he admitted. “Then there was more to it and stuff that needed changing. It just kind of built up on itself and... it’s stupid and crappy, I know it is.”

“It’s not,” said Rory immediately, then off his incredulous look she shook her head and said more. “Well, I can’t say for absolutely certain that it’s not because I only read one paragraph from what I’m guessing is the middle, but it’s you, Jess. You’re so good with words and writing, I know it must be great,” she said definitely. “I just don’t know why you didn’t tell me you were doing this. I mean, how long has it been since you started?”

“I wrote a little when I was here last Summer,” he admitted. “Honestly, a lot of that got trashed. It was self-pitying garbage. Lovelorn tragedy and... not for public consumption,” he said definitely.

Rory tried not to smile, but it was tough. He was all cut up over leaving her, and as much as it seemed wrong to know he had been hurting, it was kind of beautiful to hear all the same. Jess walking out on their relationship certainly hurt her a lot, but at least Rory wasn’t the only one. It could only hurt that bad when you love someone so completely, as they loved each other.

“I just carried those pages around with me, didn’t do much with them until I came back to Stars Hollow,” he continued then. “Honestly? Seeing you again, us getting back together, it kick-started something and... and I don’t know, this story is suddenly just writing itself,” he admitted.

Rory smiled all the more at that, sitting down closer to him and trying to lean over and see the other pages he had pulled out from the drawer on his side of the bed. It had to be the start of the novel, the beginning that she would need to see before she got to the middle that he was working on now. She was inspiring at least some of this book, she ought to get a look at it. 

“You’re going to let me read it, right?” she urged him, leaning across to get a hold of the papers in his other hand.

Jess deliberately moved his arm further off the edge of the bed away from her, a smirk on his lips because Rory was just too much fun to tease sometimes, especially when it came to stuff she was desperate to read. Strangely, he forgot all about that when she leaned right over him and he spotted the henna at her shoulder.

“You got a tattoo?” he asked, in complete shock apparently, until he realised just how not permanent it was.

“Just henna,” she shrugged, shifting position so she was sitting with her back to him and the tattoo closer to his face so he could get a proper view of it. “You like?”

Jess didn’t answer her, just gently moved a few stray strands of her hair away that she hadn’t managed to get hold of herself, his fingers skimming over her skin and the ink that marked out a swirly stylised heart with an R and J entwined within it. It might be a little corny in its way, but it was sort of pretty too. The fact it was inked onto the body of the woman he loved, a proclamation of their love, that didn’t suck as far as Jess was concerned, even if it wasn’t the permanent kind of tattoo. That wasn’t a reflection of their relationship, he knew that. Honestly, he didn’t want Rory putting permanent marks on her body for his sake, but he liked this anyway, even if he hadn’t said it yet.

“Jess? You do like it?” asked Rory worriedly then, peering back over her shoulder at him.

“It’s cool,” he assured her, hand running over her bare shoulder again. “Kinda sexy actually.”

Rory smiled at that, even as a blush rose in her cheeks. Even after everything, that kind of compliment from her boyfriend made her feel oddly shy and embarrassed. It was stupid maybe, but it was just the way it was.

“Really? Sexy?” she checked.

“Really sexy,” he confirmed, dumping all the pages of his novel onto the floor in one swift movement and reaching to pull her into his arms.

Rory went willingly, letting herself fall into Jess’ embrace, happy enough to let him take her breath away. They were a little less than okay about getting too physical in the house when anyone else was home. As Jess told Rory the first night they were here, the walls were thin, but fooling around just came naturally and it would be impossible to keep it from happening. Still, Rory wasn’t stupid. She knew Jess’ attentions weren’t all about how much he missed her today, how much he liked her tattoo, or even simply how much he loved her. He had an ulterior motive and she was not dumb enough to ignore it.

“Hey!” she said, suddenly pulling away from him, literally putting Jess at arm’s length with her hands against his shoulders as she met his eyes. “You think this is going to make me forget the story you’re writing that I really, really wanna read?” she asked him.

“Probably not,” Jess sighed, suddenly realising maybe he wasn’t getting as lucky as he thought.

“Good, just so we’re clear on that,” said Rory with a firm nod.

Just as fast as she had pulled away, she threw herself back into Jess’ arms and resumed kissing him. As surprised as he was by the sudden ‘attack’ he certainly wasn’t going to complain. Jess got as lost in the moment as Rory did, for now anyway. Later she was going to insist on reading what he had so far of his untitled short novel. It didn’t matter so much. Jess always intended to tell Rory about the story eventually. Back home in Stars Hollow, when she called him on why he was so tired, he almost confessed then it was because he had been getting up in the middle of the night with the urge to write just a couple more pages that had fast turned into a lot more each and every time. He changed his mind, still unsure if he would ever find a way of finishing the story, not certain it was really good enough yet. At least when she had discovered his secret she hadn’t been mad, and at this point Jess was semi-confident that his story didn’t suck. All this was fading from his mind pretty fast right now though, as he and Rory kissed until they were breathless, rolling around on the bed like the young people in love that they were. Life was good.


	20. Chapter 20

Time seemed to pass so quickly in California, Rory joked that the west coast clocks actually must run faster. Lily leapt in to explain why that wasn’t so, book smart as she was even at ten. The adults all tried not to laugh at the way she took the statement so literally. She was pretty adept at sarcasm and all, but in between novels she had got deep into a psychics volume recently, so she was all for demonstrating all she knew. Looking smart pleased Lily, especially in front of Rory and Jess who were so intelligent themselves. They were also the best fun. Lily already loved Jess like a brother and it was easy to feel the same about Rory too and make her the older sister Lily never actually had. Sure, there were times when they wanted to be alone, but mostly her pseudo-siblings were happy to hang out with her, and Lily knew she was going to miss them terribly when they went away. Barely twenty four hours from now and they would be headed home.

“Do you absolutely have to leave tomorrow?” she whined to Jess who smiled and shook his head.

“For the nineteenth time today, yes, munchkin, we do,” he told her, crouching down to her height. “C’mon, you gotta be sick of me and Ror by now.”

“Not even a little bit,” she promised him faithfully, throwing her arms around his neck.

Jess hugged her back, still astounded by how much she could love him. It was a rarity for him to be cared for so unconditionally. That was just kids, he supposed, though Lily was old enough to know that adults were far from perfect. Jimmy had flaws enough, even Sasha wasn't without fault, nobody was. Jess was well aware of his own issues, but Lily loved him, so did Rory, Sasha, maybe Jimmy, Luke, and so far Lorelai hadn’t killed him so she must at least like him. It was very weird to have so many people care. Jess wondered if he would ever truly get used to it.

“You’re thinking too hard,” said Lily as she pulled out of his arms and stared at him with a frown. “You get a wrinkle right here when you do that,” she declared, poking her finger between his eyes.

“Yeah, well, you notice too much,” he told her, ruffling her hair and making her squirm away. “I’ll tell you what, I’m gonna take Rory out for a little while, but when we get back, it’s full-on Lily time until we leave, okay?” he promised her, getting up. “Whatever you wanna do, we’ll do it.”

“Will you let me read some of your novel?” she asked excitedly and Jess winced.

The kid had overheard a conversation about the story he was writing and would not stop bugging him about reading it. She was a good kid, mature for her age when it came to books at least, but there were parts of this short novel he’d been working on that weren’t exactly PG-13, and Lil was only ten.

“Maybe,” he said thoughtfully, thinking he could probably find a kid-friendly section to let her look at if he tried.

She ran off happily, almost bowling over Rory as she emerged into the living room, all ready to head out. Jess smiled at the sight of her, tanned as she was by the California sun, dressed like a native in a tie-dyed style halter top Sasha had gifted to her and a pair of very short shorts, complete with large sunglasses and a hat to protect her from the worst of the sun’s glare.

“What?” she asked when she caught Jess staring.

“Nothing,” he shook his head slightly, concentrating on fastening his watch around his wrist a moment.

Rory was at his side the moment he was done, and Jess’ arm slid around her shoulders like the most natural thing in the world.

“Are we going anywhere in particular?” she asked, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.

“Just for a walk around, take in the sights one last time before we leave,” he shrugged. “Unless you had somewhere in mind?” he offered, fingers running over the tattoo at Rory’s shoulder and making her smile.

“No, I’m fine with the wandering,” she agreed, leaning in for a kiss that seemed like a whole lot more than just a peck for the sake of it.

“What was that for?” Jess asked when they parted.

Rory shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

“I just love you,” she admitted simply.

Jess smiled at that and they left the house hand-in-hand.

* * *

“I can’t believe my baby girl is coming home tomorrow! Tomorrow, Luke! That’s the day after today!” said Lorelai excitedly, literally bouncing on the stool.

“Yes, I am aware of what tomorrow means, Lorelai,” he rolled his eyes, refilling her coffee cup against his own better judgement. “But I do understand why you’re so happy about it. I mean, I am too. It’ll be good to have them both home.”

There was something about the way he said it, Lorelai couldn’t help but think there was a litte more to it than simply getting Rory and Jess back in the Hollow. Luke wasn’t afraid of planes falling out of the sky or shark attacks at the beach, he wasn’t that paranoid. If Rory and Jess had gone away on vacation anywhere else, he probably wouldn’t be wearing that look on his face.

“From what Rory said, Jimmy has really changed,” she said careful. “I mean, I know she didn’t know him before, neither did I. Hell, neither did Jess actually, but from what you’ve said, how he was before, all irresponsible and bad... he seems better now.”

“I know,” said Luke shortly, making a big deal of rearranging items on the counter and wiping it down, like if his hands weren’t busy they would just be itching to strangle someone, probably Jimmy Mariano.

“Luke,” Lorelai grabbed at his wrist the moment he got close enough and looked up, forcing him to meet her eyes.

She didn’t have to ask what was wrong because she already knew, and Luke knew it too. This shouldn’t bother him, none of it should, but it did. Jimmy Mariano was not to be trusted, it was hard-wired into Luke’s brain to believe that after all the guy put Liz through. There was no way he would ever try to stop Jess from going to see his father or form some kind of relationship with him. He was nineteen, grown up enough to know what he wanted to do, but that didn’t stop Luke worrying.

“I just... I don’t want to see him hurt again, Lorelai,” he said in a low voice so none of the eavesdropping townsfolk would hear. “He went through so much, with his mother, and Jimmy was never there, not from the day he was born...”

He shook his head and turned his face away. Lorelai’s hand moved on his arm and got his attention back. She gestured for him to come closer so she didn’t have to speak any louder. Luke put his elbows down on the counter and leaned in to her.

“Luke, I get it, I do,” she promised him. “I probably get it better than most people. You think I liked Rory getting close to my parents, after everything I went through with them? Not a chance,” she shook her head. “But people do change, and from what Rory has been saying, Jimmy really has. He wouldn’t have kept a live-in girlfriend and her daughter happy all these years if he was still the loser that screwed Liz over and left baby Jess behind,” she explained.

Luke sighed and gripped Lorelai’s hand in his own. She was right, she was always right about this stuff, and he felt stupid for needing to be told things he already knew. Of course Jimmy was different, better, he had to be or he wouldn’t have come looking for Jess in the first place over a year ago now, and he wouldn’t have let the kid stay with him in Venice Beach last Summer. He wouldn’t have kept Sasha and Lily happy, or invited Rory to come visit along with Jess this year. That didn’t mean Luke was any happier about Mariano Snr being in their lives again.

“Maybe it’s not him screwing up that really bothers me,” he admitted eventually, looking up to meet Lorelai’s eyes. “Maybe it bothers me more that he won’t screw up.”

Lorelai frowned a little at that before realisation hit.

“Luke, Jess won’t stay with Jimmy forever,” she assured him. “Even if he thought about it, and honestly I really don’t think a New York City boy like him could ever be totally happy playing at the Brian Wilson gig, he’s going to go where Rory goes. My baby is coming home, Luke. This much I know.”

Luke smiled and nodded his head in agreement. She was right again. It was becoming a habit, it seemed.

“I know,” he sighed. “I just... Things are good right now. Me and you, Rory and Jess. Everything is sort of settled and... and good.”

“Definitely good,” she agreed with a grin, leaning in a little closer and kissing his lips. “But that’s not a reason to worry that it’s all going to go to hell in a hand basket. After everything, all the drama that our lives have entailed over the years, I think we’re due a little ‘good’, don’t you?”

“I do,” he agreed, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear. “You know the one thing that isn’t so good about Rory and Jess coming home?”

“Um, no more walking around the house naked?” she checked.

“I never walked around your house naked,” he frowned.

“Huh. Must’ve been a really vivid, really good dream I had. Wanna come over later and make it come true whilst we have the chance?” she smirked wickedly.

Luke laughed because he just couldn’t help himself.

“I’ll be there just as soon as I close up.”

* * *

“This is nice,” Rory sighed, leaning back into Jess’ embrace, shifting her toes in the warm sand. “I never really thought of myself as a beach person, but it is one thing I am definitely going to miss when we go home.”

“The whole sun, sand, and sea thing does kind of grow on you,” he agreed, kissing her cheek. “But honestly? I like it better this year than last year,” he told her, glad to see Rory smiling widely when she turned to look at him.

“You’re very romantic today,” she noted. “Not that you’re usually unromantic, but... you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, well, maybe being back here has just made me think some more about how I screwed everything up the last time we dated.”

“Jess,” she said his name like a warning, moving out of his arms to properly face him with a scowl on her lips.

Jess wasn’t giving in this time.

“Rory, you keep telling me not to talk about this, but I have to,” he told her definitely. “There’s things I still haven’t said to you, things I’m not sure I could’ve explained before if I wanted to. Being back here, bringing you with me this time, it’s... it’s put things straight in my head. I meant what I said on the way over here, when I came the first time, I should’ve asked you to come with me. I should’ve told you about Jimmy, and about not graduating high school.”

“Yes, you should,” she agreed, feeling the awful knots in the her stomach returning, the ones she had thought were gone for good, that had formed when she and Jess fell apart last time, and remained until he returned and they set things right between them.

“I told you I was sorry and I meant it, but I don’t think even I knew why I kept so much from you back then,” he explained.

Rory shook her head.

“I wasn’t exactly the kind of person you could easily talk to,” she admitted. “Not about that kind of thing. I was kind of judgey.”

“Maybe a little,” he agreed. “But that wasn’t the whole reason. I didn’t like myself, Rory. Sure, I acted like I was smart, like I didn’t care what anybody thought, like I was better than anyone, but I wasn’t,” he shook his head, eyes going to the sand as he moved his hand idly through the grains. “I’m not making excuses exactly but nobody... nobody ever really cared about me growing up. I got so I just expected to be screwed over, abandoned, treated like crap. Luke tried to be a father-figure and I threw it in his face because... because I was just waiting for him to give up on me, throw me out, whatever.”

Rory listened to his tale of woe and her eyes filled with tears. Every time she thought she knew Jess better than anyone else ever could, he surprised her. He confessed something she never expected, opened himself up just a little more and bowled her over with honesty. She couldn’t speak even if she wanted to, and she hadn’t the urge as she listened to him continue on with his explanation.

“I knew I didn’t deserve you. I knew I should just leave you alone, let you be with good old Dean, but... but you actually seemed to like me,” he smirked as he glanced up at her. “This straight-laced bookworm of a girl was looking at me like I mattered, and I didn’t even know how that worked. You were like this crazy puzzle that I wanted to unravel, Rory Gilmore, and I couldn’t help myself. I never knew what falling in love really meant, and I sure as hell never expected it to happen to me, but it did, because of you,” he explained. “I wanted to be with you, but I didn’t know how. And the whole time we were together, it wasn’t just Lorelai and Luke and the people in town telling me I didn’t deserve you, I was telling myself, or this annoying little voice in my head was anyway,” he sighed. “I felt like everybody expected me to mess up, even I expected it, so when I did, nobody was going to be surprised... except for you. See, you believed I was this great person, and even I couldn’t understand that. When it came to telling you about school, about prom and everything, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be a disappointment to you. Jimmy showed up and suddenly I had an easy out, so I ran. It took being here, away from you a while, to realise that running away wasn’t going to work this time. I couldn’t out-run you, you were always in my head, Rory, every day, every night,” he explained. “I started writing and there you were on the page. I still thought you were better off without me, but no matter where I went, I knew you were always gonna be here,” he said, tapping the side of his head. “I love you, Rory,” he told her then, even as he watched tears slip from her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it when it mattered, I’m sorry I didn’t say a lot of things I should’ve, and when I finally did try to tell you how I felt, I’m sorry I ran out on you like a coward. I just... I had to learn to be me and be okay with that before I could be the kind of man you deserve. You understand?”

Rory swallowed hard and nodded her head. There were no words she could say, not one sensible sentence would even form in her head. What Jess had said in that speech just now, it wasn’t just beautiful, it was also the most honest he had ever been, not just with her, but with himself, she suspected. He said she was in his head all the time, but it was clear enough that she was also in her heart, as he was in hers. Throwing herself forward into his arms, Rory gripped on tight to him, crying into his shoulder and unable to stop.

Jess rubbed her back and whispered apologies for making her cry. It was never what he intended, he just needed her to understand the things he had only just now figured out for himself. If they were going to be together for the long haul, and that was what he wanted, they needed to start fresh, with all the information and everything from the past put to rest.

“I love you so much,” she said, words muffled by tears and her face being buried in his neck, but Jess heard her clear enough.

“I love you too,” he promised, twice in as many minutes, but he was just moved enough to let it happen.

It wasn’t as if he didn’t mean it anyway, he just wasn’t one for repeating such sentiments over and over ad nauseum. Right now, Jess felt like he could tell Rory a million times how he felt and it wouldn’t be enough. At the same time, he knew he didn’t need to say another word, because she already knew. They were definitely going to be okay.


	21. Chapter 21

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re coming home tomorrow!” Lorelai enthused, literally bouncing on her bed like a child. “Actually, you’re practically coming home today. Just another hour and a half until tomorrow is today!” she said as she checked the clock on the bedside cabinet.

“Maybe for you, it’s three hours earlier here, remember?” said Rory, grinning still at her mother’s excitement for her homecoming.

“Ugh, it’s gonna be so good to have you back in the same timezone as me. This whole across the country thing is way too confusing.”

“Mom, you just subtract three from whatever time it is there. It's not so complicated”

“I still don’t like it. Different time zones just mean a person is too far away from another person,” she explained in a way that only Lorelai could. “Honestly, sweets, I love that you’ve had a fun trip and that everything has been so good, but Mommy misses you and is more than ready for a reunion!”

“I know what you mean,” agreed Rory. “It is great here. Sasha and Jimmy have been really kind to me, and Lily is so much fun. I don’t hate the fact I actually got a tan this Summer and that the weather is almost always good, but... well, it’s not home. I miss the Hollow.”

“As it should be, kid,” her mother smiled.

Adventures were very nice and they’d had a few together. This was Rory’s first real vacation without Lorelai, and she meant what she said to her daughter about being glad she had a good time. That didn’t change the fact that life without Rory in it on regular basis felt very weird and not nice at all.

Rory had to admit it was much the same for her. Stars Hollow was where she belonged and her Mom and Luke were very much missed whilst she was here in California, no matter how much fun she had with Jess and his sort-of family.

“I know you’ve been missing me, but you must’ve been kind of loving having the house to yourself, what with you and Luke being together and all?” said Rory then.

“Empty house has its perks when there’s a boyfriend to play with,” she giggled in such a way that Rory almost wished she hadn't asked. “In fact, my boy toy should be on his way over soon.”

“This late?” asked Rory with a frown.

“Well, _Mom_ , you’re not here so I decided to break curfew,” Lorelai teased her.

“You’re hilarious,” her daughter dead-panned.

“Yes, I am. But anyway, Luke said he would be right over as soon as he closed up the diner, but then there was some kind of Kirk-related emergency. I didn't even wanna ask what that meant, so here I sit and wait for my man. He’s great but he’s kinda screwing up my beauty sleep.”

“Like you need beauty sleep.”

“Man, I have you well trained!”

They both laughed at the jokes they made, and then Lorelai sighed.

“I’ll bet you and Jess have had a pretty good time together out there, huh?” she asked. “Running in and out of waves, kissing on the beach whilst Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing plays in the background?”

“Yes, that’s exactly how its been,” Rory replied overly seriously. “Honestly though, it has been pretty special. Jess is just... he’s different. Well, not different exactly, it’s like he’s the same as before, all the good parts that I fell for in the beginning, but all the really moody, running away tendencies have gone away, and been replaced with this... this smile actually. He smiles a lot more, Mom, and I love that smile.”

“That’s great, hon,” said Lorelai with a genuine grin of her own that Rory could practically hear. “But y’know, I’m not so sure California gave Jess the shiny happy feeling. Pretty sure that has a whole lot to do with you.”

“Maybe a little,” Rory blushed, and her mother knew it in spite of the fact she was so many miles away. “But honestly, I think a lot of it has to do with Jess himself. He’s figured out a lot of stuff that bothered him before, a lot of things he didn't like about himself. Meeting Jimmy, living alone for a while, coming back to Stars Hollow and starting fresh, it’s all relevant.”

“I’m sure that it is,” Lorelai agreed. “And I’m happy for you, Rory, and for Jess, and for Luke actually. Y’know he cares so much for that boy as well as for you.”

“I know.”

“In fact, he cares so very much that he’s going to come pick you up from the airport tomorrow,” explained Lorelai. “And before you start pouting that I can’t come myself, I would like to point out that I have already done all the fat lip necessary about this situation, but Jackson is sick so Sookie is out, and Michel had to go out of town on a family thing, so yours truly is the one woman inn running machine. I’m so sorry, hon, I just can’t leave things the way they are...”

“Mom, it’s fine, I understand,” Rory assured her. “But right now, I have to go. Jess and Jimmy just got back with pizza,” she explained, scrambling from the bed.

“They went out for pizza?” her mother checked. “What you can’t get delivery in the Sunshine state?”

“Florida is the Sunshine State, California is the Golden State," she corrected. "And yes, you can get delivery here, but everybody knows the delivery guys are stoned after six and can’t find the house,” she said matter of factly.

“Oh, okay then,” her mother replied, finding that a little odd, mostly because her daughter suddenly knew such facts after only fourteen days in Cali.

“I’ll see you soon, Mom.”

“Really soon!”

The Gilmore girls ended their call and Rory rushed to the living room just in time to see pizza boxes being handed around and opened up. Sasha and Lily were on the floor by the coffee table whilst Jess waited for Rory on the sofa and Jimmy took up the armchair. 

“That’s Hawaiian with extra pineapple for Lily-Lou,” said Jimmy, passing her the box. “And one with everything for Rory,” he smiled as he handed it over,

“Thank you,” she replied politely, digging into her food with gusto.

There was chatter and laughter aplenty as they ate, the five of them enjoying what would be their last meal together, at least on this trip. Rory sat up close to Jess with Lily down in front of them, and Sasha smiled at how cute they all looked.

“So, as much as you’ve had some fun here, you kids must be glad to be headed home tomorrow,” she said thoughtfully. “Rory, you must be missing your mother, given how close the two of you are.”

“I do miss her, yeah,” she admitted shyly. “Not that you guys haven’t been totally welcoming. You really make me feel like part of the family.”

“Well, you are” Sasha shrugged. “As much as any of us anyway.”

It was true enough that they were an odd family unit, with Lily being Sasha’s daughter alone, and Jess being Jimmy’s estranged son. No-one was married, and there were very few blood ties here. Still, Rory knew just exactly what Sasha meant.

“It’s kind of how it is at home in Stars Hollow actually,” she explained. “I mean, my best friend, Lane, she’s like a sister to me really, and Luke has always been kind of fatherly.”

“He is good at that,” said Jess with a knowing look.

He didn’t even think about the comment until it was out there and the look on Jimmy’s face was something to behold. Jess hadn’t meant it the way he must’ve taken it, and yet.

“I’m gonna grab a beer,” muttered Jimmy, heading for the kitchen.

Jess shook his head, dumped his pizza on the table and followed his father. Sasha and Rory shared an awkward smile and then continued eating. It was weird to Rory how Jess and Jimmy could be related and awfully similar at times, and yet not act like father and son at all. They were some kind of friends, maybe, but that was all for the most part, even though they were blood. Sure, they hadn't seen each other for the first eighteen years of Jess’ life, but Rory would’ve thought that when they finally got to meet they would want to be closer. She hardly ever tried to talk to Jess about his dad, not before or after he met him. It was such a delicate subject. Now she couldn’t help but strain her ears to hear what as going on in the kitchen, but she couldn’t hear a word. Part of the reason for that was probably because very little had been said yet.

Jimmy actually was digging in the fridge for a beer when Jess got the door.

“Hey,” he said to get his attention, but Jimmy either didn’t hear him or didn’t want to answer. “I, er... I don’t know what you thought...”

“You want a beer?” asked Jimmy, all out of the blue as he yanked his head and hand out of the frdge, bearing two bottles.

“You realise I’m still only nineteen, right?” asked Jess, even as he took the beer from his father’s hand.

Jimmy looked like he was torn between laughing and slamming his head against a brick wall. Jess leaned back on the counter and waited for his father to say something, anything really. There was a moment back there when something awkward and painful happened. It was unintentional, even unexpected, but it happened and Jess didn’t feel okay about letting it slide on by.

“I’m not a father, Jess,” said Jimmy eventually. “I told you that when you first came here last Summer, and I mean it as much now as I did then.”

“Lily thinks different,” said Jess, sipping on his beer.

“Lily’s just a kid,” Jimmy shook his head, took a long drink from his bottle.

“Yeah, but she’s a smart kid, and... and you’re doing good with her,” his son tried to tell him. “I mean, she looks up to you, thinks you’re cool. That’s not nothing.”

“Pretty sure she likes you better, big brother,” smirked Jimmy.

Jess smiled and shook his head.

“Maybe you’re right, maybe she’s not so smart.”

That made them both laugh and the tension broke some. Jess cleared his throat to speak again.

“Y’know, Luke has been... Well, he’s helped me out a lot. I can’t make that not true just to make you feel better.”

“I don’t expect you to.”

“I know, but I appreciate that you let me stay here last Summer, and that you let me come back this year, bring Rory along.”

“Sash would’ve killed me if I didn’t,” he smirked, because they both knew that wasn’t the only reason. “Besides, kinda like havin’ you around.”

“Yeah?” Jess smirked too. “That’s cool. Kinda like being here.”

When they returned to the living room a minute later it was with smiles on their faces and whatever strange bond they had once again restored, maybe even reinforced.

“You okay?” Rory whispered to Jess as he sat down close beside her.

“Yeah,” he promised, kissing her cheek. “I’m fine.”

Sasha looked at Jimmy and he smiled genuinely at her. She always knew when he was faking, so she figured things were okay. She’d get the whole story later, and was pretty sure Rory would do the same with Jess. For now, she was just going to let things continue as if the awkward moment from before never happened.

“You’re gonna come visit again, right?” asked Lily then. 

“Oh, well...” Rory began, eyes flitting first to Jess then to Sasha.

“You are always welcome, both of you,” she assured them.

Rory threw a questioning look at Jess who only smiled and leaned down to ruffle Lily’s hair.

“Yeah, I guess we could stand a little more of your company eventually, munchkin,” he teased her.

Lily laughed and complained all at the same time. It was a lovely happy family atmosphere. As much as Rory would be glad to see her mom and Luke and everyone in Stars Hollow again very soon, she was going to miss this place and these people. She was glad to know she might be coming back someday.

* * *

“I’m going to miss this,” said Lorelai, snuggling further into Luke’s embrace, her head on his bare chest. “I mean, yeah, I’ll be so glad to have Rory home, but this bed is going be so big without you to share it with,” she declared, planting a kiss on his chest.

“I know what you mean,” Luke agreed, holding her tighter. “I’m guessing it’s going to be weird for the kids too. As much as I have a general rule of not thinking about the fact that Rory and Jess actually... spend nights together,” he said awkwardly, making Lorelai giggle. “They’re going to have got very used to it whilst they’ve been in California.”

“Hmm,” Lorelai considered. “Well, I guess on nights when you wanted to be here, Rory could be at the diner with Jess. They were doing that a lot when you were away so it’s not like it’d be so weird.”

Luke agreed that made sense as they both yawned together and decided now was the time to settle down to sleep. Lights out, eyes closed, it was barely two minutes later that a thought came to Lorelai and she poked at Luke to get his full attention.

“What happens when Rory goes back to Yale?” she asked worriedly.

“What do you mean?” asked Luke, not even opening his eyes at first.

“I mean, Rory is going to be living in a dorm in New Haven and spending lots of time studying and everything,” Lorelai explained. “Where will that leave Jess?”

Luke opened his eyes and shifted to flip the lamp back on. He hadn’t really thought much about what the future held for his nephew and Lorelai’s daughter. They had gotten together again at the start of the Summer and spent a long vacation together. It wasn’t over yet, but Yale would be back in session in just a few short weeks. That would force Rory and Jess apart for large portions of time. Luke sighed.

“Well, Jess will work at the diner with me, I guess. That’ll take up a lot of his time,” he shrugged. “He and Rory will still see each other, same way that you and I still see her.”

“Yeah, I guess,” said Lorelai with a sigh. “But it won’t be the same. Plus there’s that whole thing where Rory is a college girl dating an ‘outsider’,” she air-quoted. “I just... Well, as much as I was against the whole Rory and Jess romance before, things are different now. They’re so happy. I'd hate for things to get all awkward and turn bad again. Neither of them deserves that.”

Luke was a little astounded at how Lorelai’s worries seemed to be not just for Rory but for Jess too. That meant a lot to him, since he was pretty sure it was primarily for his benefit. He leant down and kissed her lips.

“Try not to worry about it,” he told her softly. “I know they’re young and kinda pre-disposed to being as stubborn as each other, but they’re really working at this relationship. They’ve come a long way and they’re so committed. Twenty miles of road and a few college kids isn’t going to do too much damage.”

Lorelai nodded her head; “I hope you’re right.”

“I’m right,” Luke assured her with a smile, as they shared one more kiss, and he put the light out again so they could sleep.

Still, it took Lorelai a little while to turn off her brain enough to get any rest. Between the excitement of her baby girl coming home tomorrow and concerns for what might happen when Yale was back in session, it wasn’t surprising she was having trouble relaxing. Of course, having Luke to snuggle up to, his strong arm holding her close and safe, it helped in the end, and Lorelai drifted off into a pretty dream that kept her occupied until the alarm clock sounded and declared a new day.


	22. Chapter 22

“Back to real life,” sighed Rory as she and Jess stepped off the plane.

“Real life? For you?” he asked with an amused smirk. “Don’t you still have like a month of Summer vacation left?”

“Well, yeah,” she considered. “But there’s no beach or boardwalk here, so it’s much more like reality than California.”

Jess knew she was right there. It felt almost strange to be back in Connecticut after two weeks away. In some ways, their time in California felt like a lot longer than fourteen days. In others, it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. It had been so cool to see Lily and Sasha, even Jimmy. Plus, as much as he was way more of a city boy than a beach bum, even Jess appreciated the warmth of the sun and the chance to get seriously relaxed for a while. Showing Rory the beach, the boardwalk, the bookstore, it was good, and yet coming back to Stars Hollow didn’t feel so much like a hardship. She was still with him, his Rory, with the henna on her shoulder that had been one form of proof of just how in love they really were. It was almost corny, but Jess couldn’t care. Wherever he went with Rory, it was home, and nowhere more than Stars Hollow because it was where they met, and where he finally felt he belonged too.

“Y’know, I promised Mom I’d spend a lot of time with her when we got back,” said Rory thoughtfully as she and Jess walked hand in hand into the airport. “You don’t mind, right?”

“Rory,” he rolled his eyes. “Like I’m going to try to come between the Gilmore girls. You think I have a death wish or something?”

She laughed at that.

“I hope not” she said, kissing his cheek. “But I will have time for you too, I promise. I just need some mother-daughter time while there’s still some Summer left. We have movies to watch and girly stuff to talk about and...”

“Ror, I said I’m fine with it,” Jess assured her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. “Besides, I’m guessing Luke has shifts I can do in the diner, and I’m going to need to work if I’m staying around here.”

Rory hadn’t thought about it much until now, but she didn’t really know what Jess was going to do with his life since he came back. It was Summer vacation for her, she wasn’t doing anything for now, but Yale loomed in September, her Sophomore year. That left Jess without her for company much of the time. Rory wasn’t sure what he intended to do and she didn’t really like to ask. He always talked about working wherever, doing whatever. His only real plan for the longest time had been getting out of Stars Hollow. Now he was back, and sure, Jess could work at Luke’s or anywhere else in town, but that was hardly fulfilling any kind of dream. Rory wouldn’t even mention the possibility of further education. Jess was smart but he never even cared enough to finish high school. He got his GED, but still Rory couldn’t imagine him ever wanting to go to college or anything, even if she knew he would fit in well.

Thinking about it now dragged the smile off Rory’s face and she didn’t want that. For four weeks yet she and Jess could just enjoy the Summer together, spending time alone and also with her mom and his uncle. No use complicating matters until they absolutely had to be complicated, and maybe by then Jess would have some kind of plan or a job or whatever. Rory thought of the pages and pages of excellent writing packed away in one of Jess’ bags and smiled again. His novel, which she had already read through once, at least as far as he had gotten with it, and enthused like a crazy person over how much she loved it. He hadn’t quite believed her, convinced that Rory was only being complimentary to make him feel good, not because the writing was anything special. Jess was terrible at taking praise, but then so was Rory much of the time. The truth was, the story was really good, the writing was excellent, and Rory truly believed it was worthy of publishing, before it was even complete!

“What?” asked Jess when he caught her smiling at him by the baggage carousel.

“Nothing,” she shrugged. “I was just imagining the literary career in your future,” she teased him a little.

“Seriously?” he rolled his eyes. “I have a half a lousy short novel that’s never going to see the light of day”. 

“Oh, Jess, don’t say that!” she complained. “It’s so good. You have to finish and at least try to get it published. Can you imagine how amazing it would be to actually see it in print? On the shelf in a store? I would be so excited!”

“I know you would be,” he smiled, secretly loving how much faith she had in him.

Jess knew what he was good at and what he wasn’t. He knew enough to know that his writing didn’t completely suck, but high praise didn’t exactly come his way very often. There was only ever Rory who saw so much good in him, and sometimes maybe Luke, but that had taken a while and Jess couldn’t blame the guy for that. He wondered what his uncle would make of his as-yet untitled story. Luke wasn’t much for reading, not fiction anyway. Jess sort of didn’t want Luke to even know he was doing this and yet part of him wanted to ask his advice on Rory’s wacky idea of sending it to publishers. Not that it mattered. They were weeks, maybe months away from him having something even remotely worth submitting anywhere, Jess was sure on that.

“Ooh, bags!” Rory suddenly exclaimed and they made a grab at their luggage as it came round.

Jess and Rory walked through to the arrivals area then and heard a cry go up as Lorelai spotted them. She was waving madly and then broke into a somewhat ungraceful but full on run just as son as she slipped out of Luke’s arms.

“Mom!” Rory yelled happily as she too began hurrying, bags unceremoniously dropped at Jess’ feet.

“Loin fruit!” came the reply that made both boyfriends wince as the girls crashed into each other in a major hugging moment.

The enthusiasm for the greeting landed them both on the floor in a heap of limbs and a lot of laughter. Luke rolled his eyes and wandered over to Jess, leaving the girls to their high-pitched chattering and happy tears.

“She was ready to close up the inn just to be here when you guys got back. As it was, she’s left Kirk in charge,” Luke explained to Jess, shaking his head. “Anyway, nice to have you back, nephew,” he told him, reaching to help with the luggage Jess was now left to cope with.

“Nice to be home,” he said with a smile that earned him a strange look. “What?”

“Nothing, no,” Luke assured him. “I just... I don’t think I ever heard you call Stars Hollow home before. A lot of other non-complimentary things, but never home,” he smiled slightly.

Jess shrugged his shoulders.

“I live here, it’s home,” he clarified, walking over to where Rory and Lorelai were now helping each other up off the floor, still talking at the usual Gilmore speed.

Luke stared after him a moment before he moved to follow. Jess could shake it off like nothing if he wanted to, but his uncle knew better. Stars Hollow really had become Jess’ home, and Luke couldn’t mind that one bit. He had Rory to thank for much of his nephew’s relocation, and yet he couldn’t help but like knowing that maybe he was part of the reason Jess was here too. It was really nice to feel like part of a family again.

* * *

“Nothing against Sasha’s cooking, but Luke, I missed your food!” said Rory, tucking in with gusto.

“And not wanting to sound like I’m turning into one of them,” added Jess with a gesture towards Lorelai and Rory. “But I missed your coffee. Everything out there is either iced or just nasty. This, this is real coffee,” he declared, taking a long drink.

Lorelai smirked wickedly, steepling her fingers and speaking in a strange almost evil voice; “Welcome to the Dark Side! Bwa ha ha!” she over-acted.

“Oh, geez,” Luke rolled his eyes. “You see what you did?”

Jess couldn’t help but laugh.

It was weirdly nice to be sat around a table like this having what amounted to a family meal. With Lorelai so eager to spend time with Rory and vice versa, but neither couple quite ready to be split apart so soon, they had ended up having dinner at the Gilmore house, with food provided by Luke. He closed up early especially for the occasion and so here they were all sat around the kitchen table, eating heartily and sharing stories of the Summer so far. Rory and Jess had laughed at the wacky adventures of Kirk, Taylor, Miss Patty, et al, whilst Lorelai and Luke listened with interest about the sun, sea, and sand type fun that the kids had enjoyed.

“I am so jealous of the tan!” said Lorelai, grabbing a hold of her daughter’s arm and comparing it to her own. “Look at this! I’m so... white! I mean, seriously, A Whiter Shade of Pale was written about my skin!”

“It’s not like you get a choice in California,” Rory pointed out. “I couldn’t exactly ask them to turn the sun down so my mom doesn’t have to be jealous of my tan.”

“Would it’ve killed you to try asking?” Lorelai countered anyway, the way only a Gilmore would.

“Next time, I promise to make enquiries.”

“Yeah, Lil was practically begging us to fix a date for next Summer before we even left,” Jess explained why Rory was so quick to say ‘next time’. “I didn’t say we’d definitely go but the kid is just crazy about having us visit again.”

“I think it’s cute,” said Lorelai with a smile. “What? You don’t like being big brother bear, Jess?”

“It’s fine,” he shrugged.

Rory giggled; “Oh, come on! You loved it. The girl adores him, Mom. It’s so cute!”

“They do get that guys aren’t trying to be cute, right?” Jess asked Luke.

“You’d think they’d know that but...” he shook his head.

“Well, us girls like to be called cute,” Lorelai told him definitely. “Or beautiful or sexy. Any of the really good adjectives,” she said pointedly.

“What? I tell you that you look good,” said Luke defensively.

Jess shifted his chair closer to Rory and just hoped they stopped soon. Still, he couldn’t deny it was kind of fun, being here with Luke and Lorelai. His uncle had been very good to him, and Lorelai was being pretty decent since he and Rory got back together. Jess wouldn’t say they were best buds or anything, but they got along now and he couldn’t be sorry about it. The whole family vibe from California existed here too, in a different way, but it was all good.

“So, all the way to California, and you come back without presents,” said Lorelai suddenly, her chin in her hand as she stared almost forlornly at Rory and Jess. “I mean, not one single gift?”

“Lorelai!” her boyfriend berated her, but Luke ought to have known it would make no difference at all.

“What? You don’t expect a present? ‘Cause I sure do,” she said definitely.

“We may have got you something,” said Rory with a smirk.

“Gimme, gimme, gimme!” her mother declared.

Rory dumped her fork and went into her room to grab a bag. On her return, she presented Lorelai with her present with a flourish right into her grabby hands.

“Oh, babe, that’s beautiful!” she said of the paperweight with swirls of coloured sand and bubbles running all through it.

“It wasn’t expensive or anything,” Rory insisted. “But they were selling them on the boardwalk and I thought it’s the kind of wacky individual thing that you’d love.”

“I do love!” she enthused, getting up to hug her.

With her head over Rory’s shoulder, and her daughter’s shirt getting shifted by the tight hug, Lorelai spotted something unusual. Her hand pushed the back of Rory’s top over a little more and then she frowned.

“Uh, honey? Did somebody draw on your back?” she asked.

Jess looked up at Rory and then very intently at his food. He wasn’t going to say a word. Rory got that henna tattoo for him and he thanked her in ways that it was weird to even think about with Luke and Lorelai in the room. At some point she was always going to tell her mom about it, he was sure, even show her the evidence, but this was some weird timing, and honestly, Jess wasn’t sure what a mother’s opinion would be to that kind of thing. It was non-permanent, and Lorelai was pretty cool for a mom, at least where Rory getting a little wild was concerned. Still, this could get interesting, and Jess wouldn’t be completely shocked if he got the blame for the tat if Lorelai didn’t approve.

“Oh, yeah,” said Rory, shifting awkwardly putting her hair aside, and yanking her shirt over as far as it would go. Lorelai could see enough to get the gist. Luke peered over too but felt weird about looking even then.

“Huh” said Lorelai as she checked out the artwork. “That’s actually pretty cool.” 

Rory seemed to visibly relax when she heard that.

“You think so?” she checked. “Honestly? I wasn’t sure if you’d like it.”

“Sweetie, if you came back with a real tattoo, well, that’d be your choice since you’re all grown up and everything, but I maybe would’ve had some words to say anyhow,” Lorelai admitted. “But this is non-permanent, something fun, and very pretty,” she smiled, turning Rory around by the shoulders to face her. “Did it get ya laid?” she asked, eyes sparkling with fun.

“Oh, geez!” Luke commented for the second time in as many minutes.

Jess just let his head drop forward on the table with a thud that made the girls jump and stare.

“Boys are so sensitive,” Lorelai sighed dramatically.

Rory just couldn’t help but laugh as she and her mother hugged. As much as she had enjoyed her time away with Jess, it felt so good to be home again.


	23. Chapter 23

When Rory returned from California she had almost a month left of Summer vacation, and yet suddenly she was down to just a few days and she hardly knew where the time had gone to. In some ways it felt as if she had no Summer at all. She recalled the days she packed up her things in the dorm room at Yale and it seemed like only a day or two ago. Then Rory listed off all the things she had done these past weeks and realised maybe she was wrong to think she had no chance for fun at all. Time was weird that way, seeming so long and so short all at once.

This she told Jess as they relaxed together on the bridge, her head pillowed on his thigh. They had been reading off and on, silently to themselves and aloud at different times, but they had long since tired of the written word and were now just relaxing in the sunshine, talking some when the mood took them.

“I mean, has it really been twelve weeks since my Grandma tried to set me up on that stupid date?”

“Your grandmother set you up on a date?” asked Jess curiously. “How did I not know about this?

“Because I never got around to telling you, I guess,” Rory giggled at the odd memory. “I was packing up my stuff in the dorm and she showed up with this guy, I think his name was Graham. Anyway, he was going out with some friends, an end of year celebration type of thing, I think, and Grandma pretty much forced him into asking me to go along.”

“But you didn’t go?” said Jess, peering down at her.

“No, I didn’t go,” Rory smiled, looking up to meet his eyes. “That was the day of your Mom’s wedding,” she explained, deciding to move now and come to sit beside him.

Jess was propped up on his elbows and she copied the position, surprised by a kiss that he planted on her lips the moment she was settled there.

“I’m glad you didn’t go,” he admitted.

“Me too” she agreed. “But you really think it would’ve made a difference? You don’t think we’d still be here like this if I had?”

Jess looked out across the water, the sun shining off the rippled surface of the lake, causing crystallised patterns all around. They were going for honesty here, that was kind of the main thing about this second try at their relationship. Rory asked an honest question and he had to give a truthful answer, no matter what.

“Honestly? If you hadn’t been there, I probably would’ve left right after the wedding. We wouldn’t even have seen each other again and I’d’ve been gone.”

Rory frowned at that; “You wouldn’t even have said goodbye?”

“Seriously?” Jess shook his head. “As much as I hate to admit it, we were not in a good place back then, Ror,” he reminded her. “You really think you would’ve wanted me to hang around long enough to say goodbye? To say anything?

He had a point and she knew it. Truthfully, she always wanted Jess around, even when she said she didn’t, even when she knew she should be so very mad at him for how he acted. When he was gone, she missed him terribly, and not just the romantic side of their relationship, but the friendship it had been built on. He was as much her best friend as her boyfriend for the longest time. Now at least he was back and they had rebuilt something even better than they had before. Rory couldn’t really care enough to have any regrets in the circumstances.

“I’m so glad I came to that wedding,” she said definitely.

“Me too,” he assured her.

Jess wrapped an arm round Rory’s shoulders as they laid down together, her head on his chest, his own pillowed on his other arm. The sun shone down on them, but Jess wasn’t dumb enough to think all the warmth inside of him was caused by the weather. Mostly it was down to Rory, having her here, knowing they had a love that wouldn’t die. This time they were going to make it.

“It’s so sad to think this Summer is almost over,” she sighed, watching fluffy clouds float across the beautifully blue sky above. “I really can’t complain that I was bored or I didn’t have enough time” she explained. “Spending time with you, helping out at the diner, going to California, having fun with Mom and Lane and Luke. It’s been great. I guess it’s just knowing it’s almost over that makes me moody. I mean, we’re really not going to see as much of each other once I’m gone. It’s the end of the Summer, and... I don’t know...”

Jess knew a full-on Gilmore ramble was imminent and he was determined not to let Rory get too far into it. She was starting to freak out on him, and he did kind of understand it. After all, their last try at this relationship hadn’t exactly ended well. Of course she had concerns about it falling apart again. The thought crossed his mind too, but if she was half as determined as he was to make this work, and Jess believed Rory was, then they couldn’t fail to survive whatever life threw at them.

“Hey, c’mon,” he urged her. “This isn’t the end of anything. So you’re going back to Yale, so what? The Summer is just the weather and some free time, that’s all. Everything else is going to be exactly the same as before. I’m still here, I’m not going anywhere, and you’ll only be on campus five days a week max. You’ll come home weekends, and I can come visit you. It’s not a big deal,” he promised her. “It’s only twenty two point eight miles, that’s all.”

“Twenty two point eight miles,” Rory echoed, looking up at him with a smile as she recalled a similar conversation more than a year ago now. “That’s all it is.”

“That’s all,” agreed Jess, leaning down to kiss her lips.

After that, Rory couldn’t stop smiling.

* * *

Luke smiled when the bell jingled over the door and he looked up to see Lorelai come bursting into the diner. He had a cup of coffee poured for her before she even made it to her seat at the counter.

“My hero,” she said happily as she collapsed onto a stool and took a long drink. “Seriously, heroic, beautiful, wonderful man. I could kiss you.”

“I won’t argue,” he smirked, leaning over to meet her half way. “Hey, Crazy Lady,” he greeted her as they parted.

“Hey, Diner Man,” she replied in kind, grinning widely. “Ugh, it has been a looong day at the inn. Remind me again why I thought I could actually take a whole weekend off without consequences?”

“You wanted to spend Rory’s last whole weekend with her before she goes back to Yale,” Luke reminded her, topping up her coffee. “From what you told me about all the fun you two had, it was worth the stress that came after, right?”

“Yeah,” Lorelai considered with a sigh. “It was pretty great to spend so much time with the kid. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love all the time I spend with you, and I couldn’t be happier to see Rory all smiley and content with Jess,” she assured him. “But me and my baby girl, just doing the junk-eating, movie-watching, and girly-talking thing? Still pretty special,” she grinned.

Luke smiled too because he loved to see her so happy. Honestly, he loved that not only was Lorelai so happy, but so were Rory and Jess too. That last one was the real surprise. Jess had never been the happiest person, not even when he and Rory dated the last time. This go around, things just seemed healthier, built on a much stronger foundation than their teenage love affair that ended so badly. Technically they were still teens now, Luke realised, but Rory and Jess were that bit more grown up and wiser this time. It had to work out, it just had to, though there was still that worry in the back of Luke’s mind when it came to Rory going back to Yale. He was the one to tell Lorelai she was dumb to have concerns about that because it was bound to work out fine. Unfortunately, the more he thought on it, the more it concerned him that something might go askew.

“You okay, hon?” asked Lorelai when she noticed how thoughtful her boyfriend had gotten.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured her. “I was just... It’s nothing,” he ended quickly when the door opened again and Rory and Jess walked in with their arms around each other.

“Hey, guys. Fun day?” she checked as the kids wandered over.

“Can’t complain,” said Jess, kissing Rory’s temple before they parted.

She sat down beside her mother, he swung behind the counter ready for his shift. Luke poured another cup of coffee for Rory and she thanked him with a smile.

“You sure you’re okay?” asked Lorelai, looking oddly at her daughter.

“I really am,” she promised. “Do I not look okay?”

“Honey, you’re my daughter; you never look okay, you always look gorgeous.”

“Can’t argue with that logic,” said Luke immediately.

“Agreed,” his nephew nodded.

Lorelai giggled and pulled a blushing Rory closer; “Now I remember why we date these two.”

* * *

Rory couldn’t help but think maybe her mom deliberately stayed at the diner tonight. The whole reason Rory and Jess spent the day together was because the next few were mostly going to be spent getting together school supplies and packing up Rory’s things to go back to Yale. Between that and Jess’ shifts in the diner, today was the last chance they had to spend all day just hanging out in each others company. It was nice, but at the same time, no matter what Jess said, Rory felt as if it were the end of something. Like the honeymoon period was over and when real life set in maybe things wouldn’t be as good. All this she was thinking as she leafed through papers she had to organise before her first day of Sophomore year rolled around. Jess was sat on the end of her bed, reading one of her books to pass the time.

“You’re doing it again,” he said, without looking up. “Don’t deny it,” he said with a smirk then as he turned to look back at her.

“I wasn’t... I can’t deny it when I don’t know what it is you think I’m doing,” said Rory haughtily.

Jess closed the book and turned to lay down on her bed on his stomach. Rory looked everywhere but at him.

“Rory, how many times do we have to go over this?” he asked her anyway. “This thing with us is not going to fall apart just because you’re going back to school,” he promised.

She sighed, dropped her papers onto the nightstand and sat down heavily in front of him. Pulling her legs up under her and sitting lotus style, Rory fought for the right way to express what she was feeling. She knew Jess was bored of hearing her worries, mostly because he considered them entirely unfounded. It was wrong to suggest he wouldn’t love her the same way when they weren’t together all the time. It was just as bad to let Jess think that she wouldn’t care for him if he wasn’t by her side twenty four seven. Unfortunately, Rory couldn’t help it. She was a born worrier, and never more so than when it came to important relationships in her life potentially falling apart. 

“You know I love you, right?” she said way too sadly for such a sweet declaration.

“Yes, I do know that,” Jess assured her, picking up her hand in his own. “It’s not like I don’t feel the same way about you, but we don’t have to say it every day to make it true. Rory, I know I screwed up before, but I’m not going anywhere this time.”

“It’s not that,” she told him, squeezing his hand. “I trust you, Jess, I do. I know you won’t leave, and I know it won’t really make any difference that I’m in New Haven a few days a week. I mean, we survived much worse than this.”

“Exactly, which leads me back to the question; why so worried?”

Rory couldn’t explain, because she didn’t really understand it herself. She was being so dumb and she knew it. She just had to have a little more faith in both herself and Jess to make things work through whatever other hardships they encountered in their relationship. She wanted to have more confidence, but every so often, she couldn’t quite manage it alone.

With no words in her head that felt right to say, Rory pulled on Jess’ hand until he scrambled up to her level and then she kissed him. Her arms crept up around his neck and held Jess tight, letting the kiss go on and on. This was what she needed tonight, this closeness, this reassurance that they were going to be okay. Jess wasn’t exactly going to argue with Rory when it came to proving what he felt for her this way. A younger version of himself might at least have been offended that she needed proof of how much he cared, or that she was worried he might run out on her again after everything, but as it was, he didn’t mind. She had her reasons for being concerned, and he understood them. If Rory needed this night to be all about the two of them just proving all they felt for each other in every way possible, that was just fine by him. For himself, he already knew everything was going to work out just fine. This was his home now, right here in her arms, and it was forever. There was no other option.


	24. Chapter 24

“Just because you pay somebody, it doesn’t mean that you can speak to them as if they’re beneath you!”

Jess was kind of surprised to hear Rory yelling the way she was when he got into Branford College. He moved quietly down the hall, hoping to find out what the heck was going on without interrupting it. As much as he always thought Rory was beautiful, she was a particularly breath-taking sight when she was angry and indignant.

“I don’t like it when people hurt my friends!” she yelled crossly towards the stairs.

Rory was incensed. This guy was right when he said she didn’t know him well, and also that she didn’t like him much. His attitude was awful and she had no problem in telling him so. He could smirk and banter all he wanted, she was not impressed, and she made a point of telling him so.

“Just take yourself and your ridiculous friends and stay away from me until you learn how to talk to people as if they were human beings, capiche?” she called after him, feeling satisfied that she made her point.

“Wow. I almost feel sorry for that tool,” said a voice behind her.

Rory spun around with a wide smile on her face to see Jess leant against the wall, that familiar sexy smirk on his lips.

“Hey, you’re early,” she said as she wandered over and kissed him ‘hello’.

“I know, apparently miracles do happen,” he joked, wrapping his arms around her waist. “So, who was the guy getting the sharp side of the Gilmore tongue?”

“Oh, Logan something-or-other,” she waved away the blond jerk because he just wasn’t worth it. “He’s one of those rich and privileged types who thinks treating us lowly folks like servants is just fine.”

“Huh. Well, I think he learned his lesson after messing with you,” Jess smiled, forever proud of the fact that his girlfriend took crap from no-one.

“Let’s hope so,” said Rory definitely, flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him closer. “I missed you the last couple of days.”

“I know, I’m sorry about the radio silence,” he apologised. “But on the upside, it may have been worth the pain and suffering. I finished the story,” he admitted, wincing a little as Rory squealed delightedly too close to his ears.

“I knew you could do it, I knew it!” she bounced in his arms. “All that talk about how it could take weeks or months, that you might never finish, and you did. I knew you would.”

“Geez, could you calm down?” he rolled his eyes and made out to complain, and yet Jess couldn’t stop smiling any more than she could.

It was kind of nice how much faith Rory had in him. She wasn’t the only one who knew about his writing endeavour anymore. He had confessed it to Luke and his uncle was pretty supportive, but truth to tell, it was Rory that really made him want to finish the story and make it as good as it could be. She had more ambitions for his career as an author than he did, but that was okay with Jess. He didn’t hate the idea of doing this for a while, writing out some of the stuff that swam around in his head and see if he could make a book out of it. One step at a time, of course. They’d have to see how this first story went before he started another, but it might be cool if it worked out.

Rory stopped her bouncing then, came in closer and planted a real big kiss on his lips.

“I am so incredibly proud of you,” she told him definitely. “So, do I get to proof-read the final draft?” she asked right away as they began walking towards her dorm room.

“Aren’t you sick of reading by now?” he checked. “I mean with all the stuff you have to get through for your courses and everything...”

“No way, Jess,” she insisted. “School books are sometimes a little dry, but your stuff is no chore to read. I love it. I want to do it. Please let me do this for you? Please?” she practically begged as they came in through the door.

Paris saw the pleading and got the wrong idea.

“Geez, Gilmore, have some respect for yourself.” she told her room-mate. “You’re giving women everywhere a bad reputation.”

Jess smirked because he realised what Paris probably thought.

“She wants to proof-read my short novel,” he told her easily.

It might bother him to have her know about his writing, but then he figured Rory had probably mentioned it over the past few weeks anyway. She had told Lorelai, which was no great shock, so she might just as easily told Paris. If not yet, she certainly would later when she got the chance to proof and edit the document like she so wanted to do. It was no big deal.

“He writes now?” Paris checked with Rory before her eyes returned to Jess. “Aren’t you just full of surprises?”

“Apparently,” he shrugged, moving to follow when Rory rushed off to her room.

Before he even got to the door, she came back out into the main room with a package held between her hands.

“Speaking of surprises...” she grinned, holding the parcel out to him. “Happy birthday, Jess!”

“Huh,” he said, staring at the gift and then eventually taking it from her.

“What? You thought I’d forgotten your birthday?” she checked.

“Not really,” he shook his head, studying the parcel in his hand complete with fancy paper and a blue ribbon that he supposed Rory thought made it a manlier type of decoration somehow.

Paris excused herself, and Jess barely noticed, not even when Rory waved to her room-mate and said she would see her again on Monday.

“Jess?” Rory prompted, making him look up sharply.

She looked sad, like he spoilt something. Jess hated that and immediately found her a smile.

“I’m sorry. Thank you, for the gift. I just, I didn’t think we were making a big deal out of it. I’m not used to anybody really caring that it’s my birthday, y’know? Or even remembering, actually.”

Rory nodded because she did understand that. She thought it was incredibly sad too, but she didn’t want to focus on that. Jess wouldn’t appreciate any kind of pity and she really just wanted him to open his gift already. She told him that last part and without further hesitation he ripped the paper off the box and opened it up. A smirk that was suspiciously smile-like appeared on his lips as he lifted the book from its packaging, a copy of ‘A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with the Clash’, written by their roadie, Johnny Green.

“This is very cool. You know how great you are, right?” he asked her, reaching out to tuck Rory’s hair behind her ear.

“I had an idea,” she smiled, not minding at all when he moved in closer to kiss her lips.

It got pretty heated pretty fast. They were all of three steps from her room and then within stumbling distance of the bed. It had been a while since they were together that way, and Rory didn’t want to object as Jess brought her body alive with his hands and lips both. Unfortunately, she knew now wasn’t a good time for this, no matter how much she wanted to.

“Jess,” she urged him, trying to push him away a little. “We can’t...”

“Why not?” he asked her seriously, face still close to hers, hot breath on her face.

“I... I forget,” she admitted, pulling him back down on top of her and kissing him long and hard.

So they would be a little late, it couldn’t really matter, Rory thought, and then she thought very little of anything else.

* * *

It was a grinning Rory and Jess that got out of his car outside of the Crap Shack. Not that he didn’t appreciate the book she had bought for him, but Jess couldn’t help but be more happy about the activities that had followed the gift giving. This much he had told Rory, earning a giggle and a deep blush that never failed to look adorable on her.

“So, how does it feel to be twenty?” she asked as they met in the driveway, their arms going automatically around each other’s backs.

“A lot like nineteen,” he shrugged. “Not much changes until you’re twenty one, at least not legally. I don’t know, am I really supposed to feel that much different?” he checked.

“Well, I feel different,” said Rory with a grin. “I’m dating an older man now. He’s in the next decade of his life compared to little old teenage me,” she teased him.

“And in a month we’ll be back in the same decade,” he reminded her, amused by her teasing nevertheless.

“Yes, but for a whole four weeks, I’m the cute young thing, and you’re my sugar daddy,” she told him, before wincing. “Yeah, actually, that sounds pretty creepy.”

“Really does,” Jess agreed as they headed up the porch steps to the front door.

Rory let them inside with a grin on her face that made Jess wonder if something was going on. He didn’t get a chance to ask when suddenly a yell was heard, and he realised he had been set up. Luke and Lorelai appeared, in party hats no less, letting off poppers full of streamers and grinning like idiots.

“Happy Birthday, Jess!” Lorelai declared happily.

“Okay... Er, thanks?” he said awkwardly, glad at least to see that Luke looked as mortified by this as he felt.

This certainly seemed like a surprise party, and yet there was only the four of them here, which seemed kind of pointless. Jess looked at Rory for an explanation and immediately she gave one.

“We planned a party, or at least we started to,” she admitted. “And then I remembered that you never really liked it when we went to other people’s parties. You don’t really like all that many people, except for me and Luke and Mom, so we thought why not a mini party with just the people you like?”

Jess couldn’t help but smile. She really did know him so well, and as crazy as this idea was, a party with just four people, it was also kind of perfect. Now Rory just looked so stupidly nervous that she screwed up. Immediately he grabbed her hand and pulled her close.

“Thanks,” he told her, dropping a quick kiss on her lips. “But seriously, I’m not putting one of those hats on my head.”

“Dude, like we’d ask you to risk the hair!” Lorelai teased him, giggling as she then dragged him and Rory through to the living room. 

There was food and presents, the whole nine yards and all for him. Jess had a feeling this was as much Luke’s idea as Rory’s own when he thought on it. As a kid, Jess never really had parties. Liz tried once that he recalled but it ended badly, as most things did where his mother was concerned. Luke knew it, and Rory too since Jess had told her various things from his childhood at different times. This was some attempt to make up for his crappy childhood as much as it was to celebrate this birthday and the fact that the four of them were some weird hybrid family, he supposed. Whatever the reasons, Jess couldn’t deny it was a pretty nice idea.

Looking around the room at Lorelai, Luke, and finally Rory, Jess couldn’t help but wonder why he was ever in such a rush to get away from Stars Hollow, from these people, especially Rory. He loved her, that much Jess had always known, and now he also knew he could never stand to let her go again. She would never ask him to, that was for certain. This thing was for the long haul, him and Rory, this weird little family unit they had made here in the Hollow. This was home, as nutty as that sounded even in his own head, and Jess Mariano couldn’t quite imagine ever wanting to be anywhere else.


End file.
